A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE
by Xamusel - Gamma 11
Summary: Side Story to A Wizard in Iwatodai URE. When Minato and Yukari both agreed to a deal from Philemon, they didn't expect to be on a Spaceship in the middle of the galaxy, nor so far away from Earth... will they succeed in their quest to rid Minato of his status as the Seal before going home? Rated M for good reason. Sadly... will be rewritten with the main story at a later date.
1. Prologue

**Xamusel: Well, well… welcome, everyone! I hope you all had a good amount of time to wait for this story to be published. Takeshi Yamato and I promise to give you the best that we can for this story and the rest of the series.**

 **Now… this is supposed to be a side story, yes, but it has the potential to have a side story of its own. Just check the original Foreign Saga for more details… should you so desire to, anyway.**

 **In any case… The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning. Rebel 1,** ** _Action_** **!**

* * *

 **A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE**  
 _Story written by Xamusel and Takeshi Yamato_

* * *

 **Prologue:** It started on Miltia

* * *

 _20xx A.D._

 _Lake Turkana_

 _Kenya_

* * *

The scenery was that of a tranquil lake in the middle of the African continent, with jungles on almost all sides of the body of water. The one side that wasn't jungle was a beach, one that was currently the site of an archeological dig. In the site of the dig, many people from the area were working, primarily to help the scientist in the area out.

"…Thanks. Concentrate on the northern cliff tomorrow," the scientist, an asian man that looked to be in his thirties and wearing clothing suited to the area, said to a local as they both left the tent they were in, the local giving a report. "The ground there is hard, so be careful when you dig."

"Yes, sir," the local said with a bow.

"Doctor! Dr. Masuda!" another local called out from the area of the shore, getting the two's attention as he ran over to them, nearly out of breath.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Dr. Masuda asked.

"Yeah. We followed the corridor on the lake side. It matches the location described in the research paper…" the local said.

Dr. Masuda turned to face the first local, who could be said to be an aide, and said, "That must be it." Turning to face the other local, he said, "Good. Show us where it is!"

"Right away," the second local said, turning to lead Dr. Masuda and his aide to the location. While walking to the area, the local said, "It's different from the others."

"I knew it!" Masuda declared, as he continued to follow the one leading him.

Upon arriving at the location, the local pointed at a spot on the ground, saying, "It's over there." With that, he got out of Masuda's way, letting the scientist kneel down and take a closer look at the spot.

It was a circular engraving of what looked like advanced circuitry, an indent shaped like a quasi-cross in the middle of it, next to an image of what looked like a butterfly. Masuda brushed some of the dirt away from the inside of the circle, revealing some ancient text about what was supposed to be there, before he said, "This must be…!"

Taking a small object out of his pocket, he placed it inside the indent, revealing it to be a perfect fit to the quasi-cross. For a few seconds, nothing happened, before light started to appear on the engraving in lines… and the area around them started to shake as a platform shot out of the lake itself!

When everything settled down, the excavators all looked to see a quasi-cross appear in the air above the middle of the lake, a flock of glowing blue butterflies showing up around it. A light started to reach up to the sky itself, prompting Masuda to say, "That light…!"

Shortly after, it started to rain…

* * *

 _Over 4000 years later_

 _In a church on Miltia_

* * *

It was a somber mood in the church, as a funeral was underway. While the stained glass windows showed that it was a Roman Catholic church, many of the funeral goers were not members of the congregation. However, what they did have in common with each other was that they were colleagues of the man in the casket, one who had died at a relatively young age.

One at a time, the people placed a white rose on his body, before it came time for a young woman to do so. As she was about to, she noticed that a cracking noise could be heard, and an odd discoloration was showing up on the man's body, almost like a stained glass window. Looking at the body closely, the woman saw the man's eye open and reveal that they were also stained glass-like!

Gasping in shock, the woman dropped her flower and backed up slightly, before the man rose up from his coffin, eliciting a cry of "What?!" from the attendees. Even as the the attendees started running away, the woman right in front of the supposedly deceased man was trapped by what looked to be giant spider legs coming out of the man's back, somewhat paralyzing her while a pair of crystal fangs materialized a bit behind and a fair bit above her, before they plunged into her neck on opposite sides and sucked her Life Force, draining her body of its coloration… literally turning her opaque as she died.

When the man finished draining her, he retracted his spider legs and the fangs, causing the woman to drop to the ground dead. Almost immediately, the man shifted into the form of a giant humanoid spider, going up a wall and out a high window to target his prey outside. When he was outside, he walked down the wall and spat web materials out to trap some more prey, getting three people trapped in his web while everyone else escaped. When he made it to ground level, he got to his feet and started walking towards his next me—

 ***CLANG!***

The spider man got hit in the face by a three-pronged candlestick that flew from someone else's direction. When the man looked in the direction of the attacker, he saw a black-veiled woman in funeral clothes walking down a staircase to reach him, a bouquet of red roses in her hands. **_"Who are you, bitch?"_** the man questioned.

"God has erred," the woman replied, eyes narrowed at the man.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

* * *

"Ah-CHOO!" the entirety of the Celestial Host sneezed, including who the woman was talking about… leading everyone to wonder, _'How can the Most High One sneeze?'_

* * *

 _Back on Miltia_

* * *

The woman walked forward, towards the spider man, continuing, "The mistake of letting Fangires like you appear in this world!" Stopping momentarily, she yelled, "I will rectify it!"

As soon as the woman was done speaking, the spider Fangire spat out a string of webbing, which she dodged while the bouquet was knocked out of her hands. At that moment, the Fangire came rushing forward, shredding a bit of the woman's outfit with claw-like hands a few times… before the woman spun around the Fangire's last attack and changed outfits in a flash, tossing her funeral clothes out for the outfit that was somehow underneath, including black leather boots where she wore heels before. Now she wore a pair of black biker shorts, a black belt, a white long-sleeved shirt, black gloves and a black vest, with a pair of blade attachments holstered on her left side. Attaching the blade attachments together, she formed a dagger in her right hand, before she yelled at the Fangire, "Come!"

The Fangire charged at the woman, before jumping into the air and falling towards her… except the woman slashed with her blade and dodged his strike. The woman, upon righting herself and facing the Fangire who had went past her, turned the blade into a whip and whipped the monster twice, knocking it into a closed door, before moving in to kill it.

She never got the chance, as it phased out of reality, after scratching the door with its extra sharp claws.

* * *

 _8 years later_

 _On the space lanes to Miltia_

* * *

The year was T.C. 4753, and a black starship was exiting hyperspace at a moment of great peril in the Galactic Federation, heading towards the planet Miltia. This particular starship had a particular pair of pilots onboard that would either make or break the coming battle of Miltia… it all depended on their actions.

" _What you're seeing here is actual footage from the violence that erupted before dawn this morning,_ " came the voice of the female news reporter as screams were heard in the background as the screens showed what looked like a warzone. " _These seemingly coordinated Realian attacks were reported throughout Federation territory, prompting government officials to consider this movement an act of terrorism. Their response to these Realians has been-_ " There was a brief pause. " _There's been a new development… As internal agencies continue to analyze these violent events, a flash action report within the Federation — and obtained by this station — indicates that only Realian models created within the last two years or those receiving adjustments in the Miltian Star System have been implicated. Although this is not a complete list, we have obtained a partial list of units matching these criteria. This list includes…_ " the reporter began rattling off serial numbers one after the other.

As this was going on, a redhead humanoid in a dull-gray pilot suit was finishing putting on his gloves, even as the serial numbers were being rattled off. It didn't look like he cared all that much about what was going on.

When the screen shifted from the news report to a man of African descent, the mood changed slightly. _"Today was just the beginning of the ensuing violence,"_ he said. _"These Realian outbreaks are spreading like wildfire. They'll be reading off plenty more model numbers in the media tomorrow, I can assure you."_

"So, what does that have to do with the operation?" the humanoid asked. "I'd like to know why I was chosen for this mission. I'm told that the military has detained all of its Realians. I find it difficult to believe that they don't have any misgivings about us."

 _"_ _Canaan,"_ the man said, _"you're a Realian who's been especially created and configured by Vector, itself. I've been given the CEO's personal guarantee that you won't be affected like the others."_

The door opened. "Besides," said a new voice, "no ordinary pilot could possibly control your craft. That makes you very vital to the operation."

 _"_ _I don't believe you two have been properly introduced yet,"_ the man said, causing Canaan to turn in the direction of the newcomer. _"This is chaos. He'll be joining you onboard as your navigator."_

'chaos' looked to be about half Canaan's height, with dark skin, green eyes, and white hair.

"I appreciate the offer," Canaan said, "but you may want to reconsider. A regular human can't ride in that thing."

chaos looked Canaan in the eye and said, "Right. That's why I'm here. Don't worry."

 _"_ _All right, it's settled then,"_ the other man said. _"Good luck to both of you."_

* * *

 _Moments later_

 _E.S. Asher, Cockpit_

* * *

 _"_ _As mentioned in the briefing, this is a top-secret mission,"_ the CIC operator of the ship said. _"All IFF code transmitters will be switched off, and under no circumstances will you receive backup from this vessel. You'll have to manage your descent and return on your own. You can expect heavy resistance from both U-TIC enemy craft and Federation military units deployed throughout Miltia. It's gonna be dangerous. So watch yourselves out there."_

"Don't worry," Canaan said in the pilot's seat. "I'm coming back."

"Operator, requesting confirmation," chaos said. "We are to head to point NN441, correct?"

 _"_ _Correct,"_ the CIC operator confirmed. _"The U.R.T.V. force is currently deployed at the target location. Your primary objective is to retrieve them. Protecting them should be your first priority."_

"All of them?" chaos asked.

 _"_ _Affirmative,"_ the CIC operator answered. _"If the situation allows, you will then infiltrate U-TIC's motherframe and acquire the Y-Data — the root of this conflict."_

"Roger," chaos said. "We'll do what we can."

"E.S. Asher startup sequence complete," Canaan said. "Requesting launch."

 _"_ _Launch request confirmed,"_ the CIC operator said. _"Now guiding E.S. Asher to Deck B."_

With that, the launch bay opened up, showing the setting sun in the horizon.

"Defensive shields deployed," chaos said. "Ready when you are."

 _"_ _Roger,"_ the CIC operator said. _"Initiating launch procedure. Good luck!"_

The Asher was thrown backwards, then released from its clamps and hurled free as the ship kept moving. Soon, the Asher ignited its flight boosters, flying past the underside of the ship before descending into the clouds below.

"Currently passing through the troposphere," chaos said. "Outer hull temperature returning to normal." As soon as the Asher made it out of the troposphere itself, the two inside the machine saw that the war zone from the news report was even worse than before, something that would have made a lesser person vomit. "Adjusting descent path by 0.22. This should get us closer to our target." At that moment, chaos' monitor went slightly crazy, as he saw something headed their way. "Approach warning. Incoming craft detected. They're on an intercept course. There are-"

"We'll take them all out," Canaan replied. "Stop counting, and take control of the shields. We'll use the shockwave to gain an advantage on them. You've got control of the weapons."

"Roger," chaos said. "It looks like they're unmanned. With no G-force limit, they can outmaneuver us. They might pull some crazy moves out there, so be careful." Even as he said that, the enemy units started firing on them, making the situation look worse.

"It just makes them all the more predictable," Canaan said, as he dove into the fray.

Even as the enemy craft attempted to shoot down the Asher, chaos saw a targeting lock on one of the unmanned units, allowing him to fire a blue beam of energy at the foe, piercing it while causing its comrades to scatter. As the explosion settled, more of the units circled around the Asher, prompting another blue beam to cut through another unit.

Two more units pursued the Asher, both spinning around a central point between them as they fired at the craft. The Asher spun around, even as it kept moving in the same direction, and rolled to dodge the fire, before chaos fired off another shot, destroying another unit. The remaining unit ducked and weaved around the Asher as the E.S. did the same, before the enemy was destroyed with a point-blank shot.

As the flames cleared, Canaan and chaos noticed something in the distance… "There's no end to these guys," chaos said, seeing that there's more of them than they had thought. "And we don't have much A.B.R. energy left, either. Let's find someplace to set it down." With that, the Asher moved into the formation of enemy units, before jinking around enemy shots. While dodging the shots, chaos closed his eyes, imagining where the best place to fire a shot would be… before snapping his eyes open dramatically as the enemy units all appeared in a line behind the Asher, prompting him to fire a beam right down the line.

All four units were destroyed, and the Asher swiveled to target the last unit… but the beam that emerged from the rifle abruptly petered out.

"We're empty," chaos noted, even as the last unit attempted to charge and slash at the Asher.

Canaan wasn't having any of that, though, as he pulled back the arm holding the rifle before using it as a makeshift spear, jamming it into the enemy unit and then releasing the rifle and pulling back before the enemy exploded.

"All enemies destroyed," chaos said. "It's true. You really are as good as they say."

"How are you handling the feedback?" Canaan asked. "You know, a normal person would've probably passed out by now. I don't want you jeopardizing the mission." The Asher began descending to the ground, as new weapons materialized on its arms.

"I'm fine," chaos said. "It feels like it's had some special tuning, but that just makes it more interesting."

"I see," Canaan replied, as the Asher continued its descent. "Well, if I get anything unusual from you, I'm cutting the bypass to the navigator immediately. I can operate this thing fine by myself."

"Roger," chaos said, before they made it to the surface of Miltia, detaching the flight packs and so on. Upon landing, chaos noticed something wrong with the general area… "Looks like we're pretty far out from our objective. Plus, I'd say the defensive network we saw on the way down takes out the idea of an airborne approach."

"We'll go by ground, then," Canaan replied. "Fortunately, the rubble from the burned out buildings should provide us enough cover to cross the city unnoticed."

"Agreed," chaos said, "we'd better get moving. We don't have much time."

"Not much time?" Canaan asked. "Does this have something to do with the U.R.T.V.s? Those designer children?"

Nodding, chaos said, "Yes, that's right. We need to protect them from the coming crisis, if and when it occurs."

"You do realize that's a different story from what I heard in my official briefing," Canaan remarked.

"No doubt," chaos said. "As the Federation government's special forces, the U.R.T.V.s were sent in ahead of the invasion. I'm sure you understand what they represent in the conflict against the U-TIC organization."

"Right," Canaan agreed. "I understand that they're bioweapons sent in to sever the link between U-TIC's Mobile Weapons Fleet and their source of power, the Zohar."

"The higher-ups have complete confidence in the U.R.T.V.s — they are the military's trump card," chaos said. "Unfortunately, the brass are also blind to the potential dangers of the U.R.T.V.s."

"Fascinating," Canaan remarked. "I hadn't realized the situation was so desperate."

With that said, the two moved on forward to recover the U.R.T.V.s, the Asher seeking the best possible route in the chaos (no pun intended on the navigator) of Miltia.

After blasting their way through some debris blocking their path, Canaan asked, "So tell me… what exactly are we expecting to happen here?"

chaos answered, "Well, the problem is that the U.R.T.V.s aren't merely machines. They're real people with their consciousness intact. The system that currently controls the Zohar was actually designed to be used for the UMN transport system. However…"

"Yes?" Canaan prompted.

"Well, they experimented with the transport of living beings numerous times, but every attempt ended in failure," chaos finished.

"According to the records, 99.76% of them were killed instantly," Canaan remarked.

"However," chaos said, "it seems that on very rare occasions, there were survivors. They didn't exist as people anymore, though. They were just things, never able to recover their consciousness — the very element that made them human."

"Mental breakdown…" Canaan summarized.

"Lieutenant General Helmer concluded that if contact with the system led to the destruction of the human mind," chaos continued, "then even the U.R.T.V.s, created as the system's antithesis, might be affected. Therefore, if the U.R.T.V.s were to suffer a mental breakdown, then likely the Zohar, a source of infinite energy, would spiral out of control. That would be devastating."

"And yet the General Staff's decision wasn't overturned," Canaan remarked. "I suppose that's where we come in…"

Even as they had been speaking, the E.S. Asher continued its advance through the streets of Miltia.

Eventually, the two came into contact with an A.M.W.S. unit. The machine tried turning to gun them down, but they got off the first shot, blasting it with a long-range beam that destroyed the enemy with a single blast. They continued advancing, clearing obstacles and defeating enemies in their path as they went.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

 _Elsewhere in the capital of Miltia_

* * *

Two young children were running away from a group of rampaging Realians, the humanoids scaring the crap out of the young humans, both at roughly six years of age. The children were wearing little kids clothing, the boy of the group wearing primarily blue, the girl wearing primarily pink.

"Yukari-chan, we have to get outta here!" the boy yelled over the din of the noise.

"B-but where do we go, Minato-kun?" the girl, Yukari, asked, also shouting to be heard. "Ev-everywhere we go there's Realians out of control! Not to mention the soldiers!"

Minato, the boy, looked around as they ran to safety. He just hoped that there wasn't any of those creepy creatures he had heard about running around… what were they called? Fangires, right, that's it. He heard how a group of those creatures had tormented his older brother, Kyoji, with a nasty torture of theirs… he didn't want to imagine the end result any further. In fact…

Minato suddenly ran right into a wall, Yukari crashing with him.

"Ow…" Yukari muttered. "That hurt…"

Minato felt slightly dazed, but quickly snapped out of it when he saw that they actually ran into an A.M.W.S.… without a pilot. "What the…?" he asked. "How did _that_ get here?"

"I… I don't know…" Yukari replied.

Before Minato could say anything more, a voice called out from within him, _'Get in…'_

"Get in?" Minato asked out loud. "What do you mean by-"

At that point, they heard sounds from behind them. Yukari looked. "The Realians are coming again!" she cried out.

Minato looked in the direction of the Realians, before grabbing Yukari. "We gotta get in!" he yelled, taking her into the A.M.W.S. unit.

Yukari was only able to ask, "Wha-?" before Minato dragged her into the cockpit, the hatch closing shut behind them.

Minato looked around the cockpit, before realizing something important. "Um, Yukari-chan…?" he asked.

"What is it, Minato-kun?" Yukari asked.

"How do we operate this A.M.W.S.?" Minato asked.

Yukari looked around, realizing what Minato meant — they were small enough they wouldn't reach the controls, not to mention they didn't really know what most everything did. "I… I'm not sure…" she said. "I guess we could each handle a specific section of the controls… though we'd need to figure out what everything does…"

Suddenly, information seemed to flood in Minato's head, causing him to cry out from a headache. "Argh!" he yelled.

"Ugh!" Yukari cried out as a similar information download happened to her. "Wh… what…?"

Outside, the Realians seemed to realize that their targets were inside the A.M.W.S. unit, so they did the one thing they knew best at that moment… they charged in to vandalize it.

Minato looked at the screen with the outside showing, revealing that the Realians were headed their way. "Yukari-chan, can you take the upper rear of this unit?" he asked. "If so, I'll take the weapons control systems, down here in the front."

"R… right…" Yukari replied, climbing with a bit of difficulty up to the rear seat. "Still… I thought most A.M.W.S. only had a single seat… this unit must have been a special one…"

Minato looked at the boot-up switch and flipped it, revealing the unit designation and name. "GHX-001 Orpheus?" he asked out loud. "What kind of A.M.W.S. has a designation like that?"

"No clue… though a prototype would be my guess," Yukari replied. She then noticed something else. "Minato-kun… is it just me, or did the seats and controls resize themselves for us?

Minato blinked a few times, before he noticed it himself. "Hey, you're right, Yukari-chan!" he exclaimed. "Now that that's taken care of…" At that moment, the Orpheus finished booting up, revealing that its IFF transponders were offline. "Well, that's just great," Minato said.

"We'll have to make do," Yukari replied, checking the controls. "Looks like a powerful unit… and flight-capable without boosters," she said. Part of her wondered just how she knew all this terminology, but it didn't matter at the moment — survival was all they were needing to care about.

"Roger," Minato said, before he noticed that the Realians were almost on top of them. "Snap!"

Yukari grabbed at the controls and pushed forward, causing the machine to begin standing.

Minato noticed that the Realians were beginning to fall off the A.M.W.S. unit, incapable of holding onto the machine. "Alright, then…" Minato said, preparing the use of what looked to be a pair of head-mounted vulcan guns. "Let's see you try to withstand _this_!" With that, he opened fire on the Realians.

The bullets tore into the Realians, who scattered from before the highly-advanced A.M.W.S.

Minato nodded in grim satisfaction at what happened. "Alright, let's get to the source of this madness!" he exclaimed.

"Right," Yukari replied. "Though I have no idea where that might be…" regardless, she manipulated the controls, and the Orpheus began walking forward.

Little did they realize what they would find…

* * *

 _Later_

 _Back with the pilots of the E.S. Asher_

* * *

The Asher was continuing to walk down the roads towards their destination when a column of light shot up into the sky, accompanied by haunting operatic music. Canaan held his hands up to protect his eyes briefly, but once he let them down… "What is it?" he asked. "A pillar of light? And that sound… It's more than that. Music?"

"It's… the Song of Nephilim," chaos said.

"You know what it is?" Canaan asked his navigator.

chaos, as it would seem, did know… "I can't believe it," he said, gripping the controls in his hands. "Even U-TIC has to be aware of the danger of the song. What could possibly make them… No! If this keeps up—"

At that moment, an explosion occurred on the bridge in front of the Asher.

* * *

 _Slightly earlier_

 _With the pilots of the Orpheus_

* * *

"Yukari-chan?" Minato asked his navigator.

"What is it, Minato-kun?" Yukari asked in reply.

"What's that light in the distance?" Minato asked.

"I… I have no idea…" Yukari replied. "And… can you hear that music?"

"Music…?" Minato asked, before he heard what it was that was going on. "What song… is this?"

 _'_ _The Song of Nephilim,_ ' the voice from earlier explained. _'A cursed song that the true enemy on this world has set to call forth unspeakable evil… you_ have _to stop it!_ '

"OK, what was with that voice?" Yukari asked.

Minato shrugged at Yukari's question. Before he could say anything, though, he and Yukari saw and felt the explosion up ahead. "Yukari-chan!" Minato yelled.

"On it!" Yukari replied as she moved the Orpheus in on the source of the explosion.

* * *

 _Back with the pilots of the E.S. Asher_

* * *

All around the Asher, Federation A.M.W.S. units surrounded them and pointed their weapons at the E.S.

"It looks like they think we're the enemy," Canaan remarked. "Any ideas?"

The Federation A.M.W.S. units started firing at the Asher, a few rounds hitting the unit, even as chaos came up with an answer. "Yes," he said, "send an emergency IFF signal to let them know we're on their side. We can't let anything stop us. We have to reach our objective." As he said that, he pressed the buttons for sending an IFF signal to the other units around them.

"They should be receiving our IFF signal," Canaan remarked, seeing the other units were still shooting at them.

"Wait," chaos said. "Something's wrong." Even as he said that, the received messages from the comms were… screams of pain and fear?

"What is this?" Canaan asked. "What the… what's going on with them?"

chaos realized what was going on, even as he said, "This is…" Gasping in shock, he continued, "It can't be…"

At that point, the Asher took a more serious hit, the right arm being blown clear off of the unit as it dropped to one knee. Canaan then began gasping and groaning in pain, holding a hand up to his forehead, as the operatic music seemed to increase in intensity.

"Wait!" chaos exclaimed. "Canaan, no! Don't listen to it! Close your mind!"

Even as chaos exclaimed that, more Federation A.M.W.S. units came towards them, weapons loaded and ready to fire.

However, three mysterious slash marks appeared on two of the units, before they exploded.

As Canaan got back under control, he and chaos turned to look in the direction of the exploded units, seeing another machine of a similar model, only painted a light green, and equipped with a longsword.

"Is he with us?" Canaan asked.

"I don't know," chaos answered. "But he's broadcasting an IFF."

" _Attention, unidentified craft,_ " came a male voice over the radio. " _I've received your IFF signal. The other crafts have been tainted, but you seem unaffected. Are you an ally?_ "

"Well," Canaan said, "it looks like this one's still sane." He turned to chaos. "What do you think?"

"Getting out of here is our first priority right now," chaos answered. "I think we should stick together."

"Agreed," Canaan replied, as the Asher stood up once more.

" _Confirmed,_ " the pilot of the sword-wielding unit said. " _IFF signal accepted. Stand by. I will now eliminate the affected Federation units._ " His machine then turned and bisected a machine closing on him from behind.

The E.S. Asher turned to fire on another Federation unit that was tainted with its machine gun, shooting it to explosion status.

The two 'untainted' units took sides of the field, the sword unit slicing anything that came close from one direction while the Asher shot up the enemies in the other direction.

All of a sudden, more Federation units came by, all of them tainted… and ready to shoot the group with their beam-capable guns.

Things were beginning to look bleak again, despite the skill of the sword-user…

One of the tainted Federation units attempted to fire on the untainted sword-user… but, before it could pull the trigger, it was horizontally slashed through the middle by a blade that looked like a katana.

* * *

 _Slightly earlier_

 _With Minato and Yukari_

* * *

"Yukari-chan, I think I know what's going on," Minato said from his spot at the cockpit of the Orpheus.

"Please, Minato-kun, enlighten me," Yukari replied. "Because from what I can see, things have gone past crazy and chaotic and are going full-on insane!"

Minato shifted the IFF transponder to turn on to the same frequency that the big purple unit was using, before saying, "The purple unit, the E.S. Asher, I think… was going about its business when the song played, causing the other units to go crazy and fire on it, and only one other unit is not going crazy… the sword-user there."

"And now there's more crazy units attacking them…" Yukari said to finish. "Minato-kun, we have to help!"

"Not like we were going to leave those two be," Minato said calmly, before he materialized a katana on the Orpheus to attack the crazy units with. "Let's go!"

Yukari nodded, pushing the unit into a run as they charged at the closest enemy unit.

Noticing that the enemy was about to fire on the other sword-user, Minato commanded the Orpheus to slash at the unit's waist, leaving it half the unit it was before… before it went boom.

* * *

 _Back at the battlefield as a whole_

* * *

Both Canaan and the pilot of the sword user turned to see the new unit, getting their first glimpse at… something they hadn't seen before.

It was an A.M.W.S. unit with a cockpit hatch in the front, light mechanical blue coloring all around it, with a faceplate that looked like it could be on a samurai from Lost Jerusalem's Sengoku Jidai… with mechanical dark blue hair showing out from under where the helmet would be located. In the unit's right hand was the weapon used to bisect the other A.M.W.S. unit.

"What is that unit?" Canaan asked. "Some kind of… prototype?"

chaos looked at the unit and saw it displaying an IFF code. "It says it's the GHX-001 Orpheus on my console," he said. "And… it seems to be on our frequency."

"That seems like a good thing," Canaan remarked. "Means that it's at least on our side."

At that moment, the sounds of gunfire continued to echo around them, prompting chaos to say, "We have to keep up the fight, Canaan! We can't die here!"

"Right," Canaan replied, as he swung the Asher around for chaos to fire on more targets.

Meanwhile, the Orpheus continued to slash at the enemy units in its general area, before it started flying on its own to dodge weapons fire from the A.M.W.S. units on the ground still… landing next to the Asher and preparing to open fire with its head vulcans in the direction of a hostile unit.

The other sword unit took a hit to its legs, causing it to begin to topple… but its cockpit hatch on the top opened as the pilot leapt out, holding a sheathed katana in his left hand, drawing it with his right and bisecting an enemy A.M.W.S. from head to 'crotch' in one strike.

"Impressive," Canaan said, knowing just how difficult it would be to do that for a normal human. "I guess that pilot is just as effective on foot as he is in his craft."

"Truly amazing," chaos said, fully impressed by what he saw. Almost immediately, the light and music went away, for better or worse.

Shortly after, the last of the enemy units were defeated, and chaos and Canaan dismounted from the Asher, the helmeted swordsman walking up to them even as the Orpheus knelt nearby.

"Thanks for the assist," chaos said to the swordsman, who had taken off his helmet by that point. "And you're?"

"I am Captain Jin Uzuki," the swordsman, Jin, replied. "You don't look like you're with the regular forces." He then looked up at the damaged Asher. "Well, whoever you are, if you're still operational, I advise you to leave. This place… affects people. Some stop being people altogether."

"They stop being people?" chaos asked.

"Unfortunately, we can't leave," Canaan informed. "Not until we've completed our mission."

"Your mission?" Jin asked.

"Forgive us, Captain," chaos said. "I am chaos, and this is Canaan. I suspect that you're part of the landing operation, aren't you? Do you know where they U.R.T.V. force is now? If so…"

"U.R.T.V.s?" Jin asked, contemplatively. "Ah, the special units — said to possess an anti-U-DO retrovirus."

"Our mission is to protect them," Canaan informed. "Please, if you know where they are, tell us."

Jin hummed. "Well, this is quite a coincidence," he said. Thunder rumbled overhead and rain began to fall. "Although, it's more than that — fate, perhaps. In any case, I will take you."

chaos then remembered the help they received from the Orpheus. "Captain, a question," he said. "What do we do about the Orpheus? The unit that aided us in battle just now…"

Jin hummed again. "While traveling by A.M.W.S. might be faster than on foot, it is also more conspicuous," he said. "Plus, we will likely be going through buildings or narrow passageways. If its pilot wishes to help us, he or she will have to leave the unit behind for now."

As if making the situation much more complicated, the cockpit hatch opened up, revealing the pilots… a boy and a girl that couldn't be older than six years old. "You might want to reconsider that option, mister," the boy said.

Jin's expression didn't change, though he did seem to frown.

Canaan, however, facepalmed. "What the… kids?" he asked. "How can kids barely old enough to see over a dining table pilot a complex machine like that?!"

chaos looked intrigued by what he saw. "Impressive…" he said. "I certainly never imagined this to be the case, but it seems like fate is at work here, more or less."

"We stumbled across this thing while running from crazy Realians," the girl informed. "We got in to escape them, and when the hatch closed, we got headaches, and afterwards… we could understand the controls, somehow. Not to mention the seats somehow resized themselves to fit us."

Canaan was dumbstruck. "Nothing I've heard of can do that," he remarked.

"I must agree, that does seem impossible," Jin added. "But the ease with which you used that machine in battle… what you've described does make some sense, even if I've never heard of technology that can do that."

The boy nodded. "I know… still, we can't leave the Orpheus, especially if you want to get to wherever in time."

"Agreed…" Jin replied, thinking his options over. "And while my first thought is to send you to the spaceport… we could certainly use your help… very well. You can provide cover for us, but if we need to go indoors, you'll need to find another route.

"Yes, sir!" the boy saluted. "Minato Arisato and Yukari Takeba at your service!"

That caused Jin to pause. "…Wait… Takeba?" he asked. "As in Eiichiro Takeba?"

"He's my father," the girl, Yukari, said. "Is that going to be a problem?"

chaos looked ready to facepalm, himself. "Who knew that his daughter would be lost while headed to the spaceport?" he asked.

"I guess we'll have to do all we can to keep them safe," Canaan remarked. "Even though they're the ones still in an A.M.W.S., and we're on foot… can anything _ever_ be simple?"

This time, chaos _did_ facepalm.

* * *

 _Later_

* * *

As they made their way down the roadways, the Orpheus following along behind, Canaan asked Jin, "So this entire thing was a set-up?"

"Exactly," Jin replied. "It's all part of an attempt to make the U-TIC Organization, or should I say, all of Miltia, into a scapegoat. Even the Realian violence that we're seeing right now is nothing more than a brush stroke in the larger picture."

chaos asked, "But who's behind this? And why?"

"U-TIC is undoubtedly a cover for a greater power still operating in the shadows," Jin remarked. "I believe that this power is manipulating the conflict between the Federation and the Miltian System, driving a sequence of events in order to get their hands on something very specific."

"Like what?" Canaan asked.

Jin turned to the other two and said, "The Y-Data."

"The Y-Data?" chaos asked.

 _"_ _What's the Y-Data?"_ Minato asked from the Orpheus.

"A complete log of Joachim Mizrahi's research," chaos informed. "It's also apparently at the heart of this conflict, but no one aside from Mizrahi knows all the details."

"I relieved an operative of this disc," Jin informed. "And though I was only able to decode it partially, I discovered that all manner of data from all existing phenomena is gathered together within an area of space. And beyond that lies a special place only described in the Y-Data."

"Captain Uzuki," chaos asked, "how in the world did you acquire this information?"

Jin let out a soft chuckle. "I have my ways," he said.

 _"_ _How important is this information?"_ Yukari asked. _"I mean, could it overthrow the Federation if used a certain way?"_

"Only Mizrahi knows that information for certain," Jin said. "So… perhaps, perhaps not."

Canaan and chaos nodded at that, before they started walking forward again.

* * *

 _Later still_

* * *

"All right," Jin said as the group arrived at the entrance to a building with an angelic statue atop it. "You will find the U.R.T.V.s in the lowest level."

"All right," chaos said. "Captain Uzuki, thank you for bringing us this far. We'll take things from here."

"Of course," Jin said. "As I said, it was fate. I wish I could go with you further." He turned to them and held up a data disk. "However, it's imperative that I complete my work on this data. I want to completely expose the shadow behind this conflict and drag it into the light. To do this, I'll have to access the mainframe here. Also…"

"What?" Canaan asked.

 _"_ _Does this have to do with us getting back to our respective parents?"_ Minato asked.

However, before that question could be answered, lightning struck the statue, sending rubble and dust down onto the path they were on. Out of the rubble and dust…

"I gave you far too much credit, Uzuki," a man wearing a strange uniform, with dark pink hair and purple eyes, said, even as all but Jin were wondering where the suffocating pressure came from. "I thought you were smarter than this. A better thief. I never once thought you'd just come walking in through the front door."

"Well, I thought you might be getting lonely, Colonel," Jin replied, "so I figured I'd come pay you a visit."

With a 'hmph', the Colonel in question said, "Same old Uzuki. Neither your attitude nor your ability to bluff have shown improvement. No matter. The data you possess is no threat to us. You've got nothing."

"Precisely why… I have some unfinished business here," Jin informed.

"I see," the Colonel said, even as he rolled his shoulders and his neck, anticipating battle. "You know what this means." With that, he stepped forward, preparing to draw his blade. "Uzuki!" he yelled, drawing the Cutlass from its scabbard, a fiery aura surrounding him. With that, a fight started up, the Colonel alone versus the group.

Canaan stepped back from the fight, not being a ground-combat type Realian. Jin drew his sword and prepared for the fight.

"There is no choice but to fight," chaos said, even as the Colonel slashed at him.

Jin moved in and slashed at the Colonel, before bringing his sword up to block a return slash.

In the Orpheus, Yukari just watched. She couldn't help in this fight - she'd as likely step on chaos or Jin as she would the Colonel. If there was any way they could contribute to the fight in their machine, it would have to be up to Minato.

Minato maneuvered the weapons to switch from the katana to an A.M.W.S.-scale Uzi, firing on the Colonel, even as Jin dodged out of the way with some form of spatial awareness.

chaos, meanwhile, rushed forward and punched the Colonel when the rounds stopped firing, backflipping out of harm's way when the enemy swung his blade at him.

Jin took the opportunity to strike again, before moving away as the Orpheus launched another volley of fire.

The Colonel, meanwhile, attempted to strike at chaos again before he was parried by Jin's blade and knocked clear, before he stabbed his blade into the ground, a pattern of flames surrounding him on the ground which then proceeded to trigger an explosion, knocking down debris from the buildings around them.

Jin wall-jumped up to the roof of the building behind the Colonel, with the Colonel following him with a single jump. chaos, Canaan, Minato, and Yukari could only watch as the two clashed with their blades again and again.

After what seemed to be forever, the two of them stopped clashing, when chaos and Canaan had ran up to get to the top of the building. When the two of them got there, Minato and Yukari following right behind in the Orpheus, they heard the Colonel say, "You're a sad sight, Uzuki, even with your so-called reinforcements. Pathetic. You're out of your league. Why, it's clear now that you never had a chance!"

chaos gasped as he noticed something. "Captain, you're hurt!" he said.

Before Minato and Yukari could say anything, Jin grunted out, "It… it's from earlier. It's nothing to worry about. If you'll pardon the cliche, it's just a scratch."

A few seconds passed, before the ground began shaking all around them. "Hmph. So it's begun," the Colonel said as the tremors stopped. "This planet is finished. There's no point in staying any longer. I think it's time we ended this…" He swung his blade around his body several times before assuming a stance, blade poised beside his head, free arm pointed parallel to the blade, as he finished, "once and for all!"

Jin simply raised his katana up into the air, blade tip facing the Colonel, free arm extended to go alongside his sword.

 _BakuBaku Beatin' Heart_

"Hmph," the Colonel sneered. "You dare to face me, maimed as you are?" He chuckled. "The only thing you've mastered is the art of futility."

 _Kattobashite Killin' now_

"You never know until you try, Colonel," Jin replied.

 _BakiBaki Burnin' Heart_

"That's enough!" the Colonel snapped.

 _Kimi koso One & Only_

Both swordsmen began focusing energy, a ball of flame in the Colonel's open palm, ice gathering in the blade of Jin's katana.

 _Kimi ga sekai ni sonzai shiteru imi wo shiritakunai?_

With a battlecry, the Colonel sent forth a massive blast of flames, even as a beam of ice energy shot from Jin's katana, the two blasts just barely passing each other before a massive explosion caused chaos, Canaan, Yukari, and Minato to shield their eyes.

 _BakuBaku Beatin' Heart!_

When the explosion faded, both men stood there for a few seconds, before Jin crumpled to the side, massive damage to his body. The Colonel, meanwhile, had a gash along the right side of his face, right through his right eye, blood flowing from the wound.

 _BakiBaki Burnin' Heart!_

chaos and Canaan ran over to Jin's side. "Now you see your death," the Colonel stated.

 _Soko ni kakuretetemo nani mo hajimannai_

"I have always been your better, in every way, Uzuki," the Colonel said as chaos began helping Jin's form to a standing position. "It's something that old fool couldn't-"

 _Tozasareteta DOA wo sono ashi de kowase_

He was interrupted by a groan from Jin, as he looked up, still very much alive.

 _Me ni mieru fuan wo kazoete tomaranaide_

"What the-?" the Colonel began, even as cracks spiderwebbed out from around him.

 _Unmei no Rule yabutteke_

chaos and Canaan leapt away, Jin still being carried by chaos, before the building fell apart around the Colonel, and he fell screaming into the depths.

 _Me ni mienai tsunagari shinjite ugoki dasou_

Later, when the group was ready to depart, Jin turned to face Canaan and called his name, before handing him the disk containing the Y-Data. "Take this."

 _You got to change Breakin' the chain_

Canaan used a data cable to transfer the data from the disk into his systems. "Is this…?" he began to ask.

 _Tobashiteke ashita e_

After storing the data inside of Canaan, Jin tossed the disk a far distance away and over the edge of the building. "Storing it with you is safer than carrying it around," he said. "Besides, there's somewhere else I must go."

 _Don't be afraid The world is your stage… GO!_

"What?" chaos asked. "You're not serious. Look, we're still mobile, Captain. You could come with us."

 _BakuBaku Beatin' Heart! Kimi koso One & Only_

Turning to face chaos, Jin shook his head. "No," he said. "This is my own way of atonement. I can't turn back now."

"But…" chaos began.

"Please, go on," Jin said to the others. "Bring the truth of this conflict - the truth hidden in that data - to light. Please, do this one thing for me."

"Captain Uzuki…" chaos said.

"I'm counting on you," Jin said. "And please, take care of the kids for until they return to their parents… so, farewell." With that, he jumped into the air, even as the place started to shake up.

Glass shattered on nearby buildings, even as Canaan began turning to move. However, chaos stopped him by saying, "Canaan! Look at that!"

Canaan looked in the direction indicated… and all four saw the abyss start swallowing the planet whole, even as Canaan started short-circuiting, his memory replay ability ending at that point.

* * *

 _14 years later_

* * *

The setting is outer space, a frontier the people of Earth had longed to see, but had never gotten to fully realize by this point. Deep in a separate part of the Galaxy at large, a fleet of ships was going at sub-light speed, looking for something that would be of great importance. The object in question would be easy to find, having a flock of glowing blue butterflies around it, despite being in outer space. The object? The quasi-cross called a Zohar.

* * *

 _Inside the Vector Industries-made ship_ Woglinde

* * *

A group of scientists and programmers were working away on computers, trying to get an Android called KOS-MOS up to proper protocol, making sure that everything was ready for what was called an Interconnection.

* * *

 _Back in outer space_

* * *

The Zohar was floating up in space, having nothing to catch it, at least not yet.

* * *

 _Back with the scientists and programmers_

* * *

A red mechanical chair was about to be sat in, especially since it was what would be used in the Interconnection between KOS-MOS and 'her' creator, a woman named Shion Uzuki. As soon as she sat down, a pair of typing armrests, one on each side of her, and a computer visor that went over her eyes extended forward and around her head (in the case of the visor).

One of the scientists, a young woman named Yukari Takeba, was looking over Shion's Heart Rate, Thermography, Blood Pressure, MRI, EEG, and Psychoanalysis, to make sure an Interconnection was a good thing.

* * *

 _Back with the Zohar_

* * *

The Zohar was wandering aimlessly about, all until a fleet of ships came by, having found their target.

* * *

 _With the scientists and programmers again_

* * *

Shion's field of vision was near promptly filled with computer-related technobabble, before she said, "Commencing startup experiment. Open up an Interconnection."

One of her aides, a slightly older man named Allen, said, "Roger. Opening Interconnection. Connecting with dummy protocol."

Another aide, a young man by the name of Minato Arisato, said, "A-LINE protocol zone secured."

A third man said, "Opening cage partition. 60 seconds to release. Beginning countdown. 57, 56, 55…"

* * *

 _Back with the Zohar (again)_

* * *

A group of space-faring craft moved to grab the Zohar and secure it, minding the butterflies. As they did so, a man in a spacesuit began to approach the artifact. When he made to touch the Zohar, a bright light shone from it, absorbing him.

* * *

 _Back on the ship_

* * *

Minato looked over the programming data he was in charge of, saying, "All monitors clear."

The third man from earlier said, "…3, 2, 1. Partition open. Proceeding with KOS-MOS body formation."

As the formation was proceeding, Yukari looked around a short bit, taking a bit of time to see what was going on around her. A thought then hit her. ' _Wait… I_ remember _things now!_ '

At the same time, Minato had the same thought, but also thinking, ' _I hope we get to learn what's going on here, unless we somehow get stuck here._ '

"Body formation complete. Commencing Penfield mapping," Yukari's voice was heard, making Minato look in her direction. In effect, she looked like she did when she was in her original body, only without her original clothing. She was now wearing a Vector Industries outfit, which looked similar to what he was wearing, only the stripes on hers were pink while his were black.

Shaking his head, he looked back at his monitor, saying at the right time, "Proceeding with Encephalon construction."

Another woman's voice said, "Mapping percentage at 76,77…"

Eventually, Minato said, "Encephalon construction complete."

Allen took that time to speak up, alerting everyone else with beeping at his computer, "There's noise appearing inside the temporal lobe."

Shion, who wasn't able to look, asked, "What's the problem?"

"It's on the left side of the temporal lobe," Allen said, showing some concern. "I'm showing slight stimulation of the synapses in section 818. It's within permissible bounds, though…" Turning to face Shion, he asked, "Do you want to abort?"

"No, let's keep going," Shion answered. "Just stick to the menu. I'll try for a direct approach. Back me up."

"Roger," Allen replied. "Launching NATARAJA connection system."

* * *

 _With the Zohar (yet again)_

* * *

The space-faring craft returned, this time carrying laser holders that would keep something in place, meant for transporting dangerous artifacts like the Zohar. With a burst of laser light, three rings appeared around the Zohar, keeping it from doing anything wrong… even as the butterflies stayed around it. When the Zohar made it into the _Woglinde_ , the ships finally moved out of the sector, using their FTL drives to move out.

* * *

 _Back with our heroes_

* * *

Shion typed her password after typing in her name, the password being, "Ye shall be as gods."

"Password accepted. Commencing NATARAJA boot up sequence," the computerized voice of the system said, before Shion was put in the Interconnection of the Encephalon. When Shion's voice came through, it was via a headset, this one being Allen's. _"Allen, there seems to be a problem with the visual field connection."_

Minato and Yukari looked in curiosity, seeing how Allen would respond. "Hmm…" he said, bringing his hand to the screens, before making a new one show up. "Ah… I see a small break in the MT field, route K12." Bringing up another screen, he said, "It looks like… the bi-directional link in the V4 field is lagged, too." When the extra screens lowered themselves, he said, "Hold on a minute… I'll fix it now." With a few keystrokes, he asked, "How's it now, Chief?"

 _"Okay, looks good,"_ Shion's voice could be heard. _"Let's keep going."_

"Roger," Allen said. "Proceeding with KOS-MOS host separation."

As soon as Allen finished saying that, an image appeared on the techies computer screens, showing a young woman-looking being with really low hanging blue hair and metallic clothing appearing on the screen. 'Her' limbs were covered with mechanical parts, even 'her' head, which had a large visor on and over 'her' eyes. On the top of the visor was 'her' name… KOS-MOS.

' _So, this is 'KOS-MOS',_ ' Yukari thought. ' _She definitely looks unique… though from what my other memories are telling me, she's an android, not human._ '

' _Almost feels like we're in an uber sci-fi setting,_ ' Minato thought. ' _Though, judging from the memories I got, that's likely not too far from the truth… aside from the Fangires…_ '

Their thoughts were cut off as Shion could be seen walking up to KOS-MOS, saying, _"Morning, KOS-MOS. How do you feel?"_

KOS-MOS turned to face 'her' maker, saying, _"Good morning, Shion. All systems are normal."_

Shion then asked, _"Well, how about introducing yourself?"_

' _Introducing herself?_ ' Yukari thought. ' _Well, it'll be interesting to see KOS-MOS' reaction…_ '

' _Thing's supposed to be a weapon, and she's treating it like a person,_ ' Minato thought. ' _Well, everyone has their quirks… and I guess it's good that she doesn't think of it as a weapon._ '

KOS-MOS turned away from Shion and looked forward, saying, _"I am an Anti-Gnosis Humanoid Fighting System, serial number 00-00-00-00-1. Development name KP-X. Abbreviated name KOS-MOS. As I am currently configured for simulated battle, my output is limited to 22% of its normal capacity. My estimated weapons specifications are…"_

Shion, who had walked forward during this time, turned around and raised her hands up a short bit, saying, _"Alright, that's good enough. Thanks."_

KOS-MOS simply said, _"You are welcome."_

' _Looks like it doesn't have emotions,_ ' Minato thought. ' _Well, still a good thing Shion doesn't treat it as a weapon, but I think she might have issues..._ '

Yukari had similar thoughts, sans the issues remark.

Shion turned away from KOS-MOS and said, _"All I have for you today are the usual startup tests. Sorry to wake you up just for that. You'll have to go back to sleep once everything's checked out."_

KOS-MOS merely nodded, as 'she' said, _"I see."_

Shion then turned to face KOS-MOS and asked, _"Do you feel sad… or anything?"_

KOS-MOS then answered, _"A pre-determined set of emotions has been hardcoded into my emotion module to better facilitate interactions with humans. In order to better facilitate a relationship with you - Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki of the KOS-MOS Project, Vector Industries First R &D Division - I will emit an expression such as sadness only when that response is deemed necessary. However, the emotion module of my program has determined that this is not necessary at this time."_

Shion took a bit to laugh as she heard the last of KOS-MOS's response, eventually saying, _"I guess you're right. I of all people should know that."_

' _So, it has emotions, but doesn't really use them,_ ' Minato thought. ' _That seems a bit of a waste, even for an android designed as a weapon._ '

' _Shion's definitely an interesting woman,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _Hopefully I'll get to know her a bit more - something tells me she might be able to help Minato and I on our journey._ '

KOS-MOS said, _"Your understanding is appreciated."_

Shion looked down before shaking her head a bit, saying, _But you know, KOS-MOS… I've got… mixed feelings about all this. Of course, I'm happy that you're awake… but the fact that you'll go back to sleep makes me a bit… sad. On the other hand, the next time you wake up… it may be a time of much bloodshed."_

' _True,_ ' Minato thought. ' _Then again, I wonder just what she's been through - I can tell there's some kind of deeper connection to KOS-MOS than just being the chief developer._ '

' _…might be we're here to help Shion more than she's here to help us,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see._ '

Shion continued to say, _"So deep down, I hope that day never comes… Understand?"_

KOS-MOS, who was looking at Shion until that point, turned to face in front of 'her' and said, _"The algorithms I have been programmed with do not support the comprehension of illogical human thought."_

Shion turned away from KOS-MOS, pushed up her glasses, and said, _"Well… I hope you'll be able to… understand someday."_

KOS-MOS said, _"I will do my best."_

Minato thought, ' _Well, KOS-MOS certainly has us humans pegged - we do tend to think illogically._ '

' _I certainly hope KOS-MOS is able to understand, too,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _Hopefully I'll be able to help Shion with that._ '

Shion then turned to face her creation and asked, _"All right, KOS-MOS, shall we get started?"_ Without waiting for a reply, she said, _"Allen, let's pick up from process 277 where we last left off."_

Allen said over the computer channels, "Roger. Placing target drones in the Encephalon. The drones are set to "random movement" and "enemy ambush". How about a test run before the mission, Chief?"

Shion said to Allen, _"Mmm, sure, let's do that."_ Turning to face KOS-MOS, she asked, _"Did you get that, KOS-MOS?"_

KOS-MOS nodded, saying, _"Affirmative."_

' _Well, let's see what KOS-MOS can do,_ ' Yukari and Minato thought in unison.

* * *

 **Xamusel: Finished!**

 **…** **what is it with me and BlazBlue? I honestly have no idea.**

 **Well, yeah, you should be able to get the hint now as to how different this is from the previous version. Next to be updated will be A Wizard in Iwatodai.**

 **Anyway… here's Takeshi!**

* * *

 **Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, we've got the Prologue from Xenosaga 2 in here, as well. And for those of you who recognize the scene before said Prologue, I will warn you: That particular plot isn't going to go quite the same way as in canon. There is a different person than in canon who wields the main power of that plotline - who it is will be revealed in time… in fact, in the AWiI update coming next.**

 **Apart from that, not much else to say that I haven't already, other than we're removing any and all traces of Fourth-Wall-Breaking Tutorial Text - I felt that was in a bit of bad taste last time.**

 **See you in the next update! :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**Xamusel: Alright… this ought to be an interesting challenge for Takeshi and I. I just wonder how much of this we can modify from the original version of the events without going into Fourth-Wall-Breaking Tutorial Text.**

 **Not much else to say, so… The Wheel Of Fate is Turning. Rebel One,** ** _ACTION_** **!**

* * *

 **A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE**  
 _Story written by Xamusel and Takeshi Yamato_

* * *

 **Chapter 001:** Testing, a Gate Out, and… a Terminal?

* * *

 _After the test run is three-fourths of the way done_

* * *

The test run was about to be finished, and for good measure, too. Allen had checked that they were ready for a real-time battle, which was what they were about to do, even considering that it would be likely they'd be injured by this.

A large circular wall was seen around Shion and KOS-MOS, followed by the appearance of more drones, two of them regular Drones and the third an Attack Drone.

It took a bit of elbow-grease (figuratively speaking), but the first Drone, the one on the right, went down with two hits. Then the second Drone targeted Shion, firing its machine gun, while the Attack Drone rammed into her.

As KOS-MOS proved 'her' superiority over the Attack Drone, dealing a lot of critical damage to fully disable it, Shion finally got revenge on the Drone that shot her, finally ending the battle with a blast of lightning.

* * *

 _After the final test_

* * *

' _Well, KOS-MOS sure is powerful,_ ' Minato thought. ' _And Shion's no slouch, either._ '

' _Amazing,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _That was nothing like fighting Shadows… hopefully Minato and I can fight that well in this universe._ '

Soon enough, Minato looked at his station's main data collection section and said to Allen, "All processes to 300 cleared."

Allen nodded in his direction and said to Shion, "Chief, the data transfer is going smoothly. The A-LINE protocol's looking good."

Shion responded, saying, _"It sure is. The response levels are really good."_

Allen, who was looking at some of the data that was gathered, said, "If we can maintain these levels, we'll have some great results soon."

Shion lowered her head in a bit of sadness and said, _"Yeah…"_ Looking at KOS-MOS for a bit, she was a bit sidetracked by her creation's presence, until…

"Chief?" Allen asked, trying to get her out of that state of mind.

Turning away from KOS-MOS, Shion said, _"Hey, Allen… Let's skip all 300 level processes and start from 400."_

Yukari and Minato's eyes both widened. ' _Skipping a whole hundred levels of testing?_ ' they thought simultaneously. ' _Is she nuts?_ '

Allen apparently had the same idea, voicing his confusion, "Huh… 400? Chief, but that's…"

 _"I feel pretty confident this time,"_ Shion said.

"But, Chief! Remember what happened last time…?" Allen asked, hoping to remind Shion of what happened.

' _Last time?_ ' the two thought. ' _What happened last time?_ '

Allen provided the answer to their thoughts, saying, "Had we waited ten more seconds to intervene, we wouldn't have been able to get you back at all."

' _Ouch,_ ' they thought simultaneously.

' _Seems Shion likes to take risks,_ ' Minato added in his thoughts.

"Can't we at least test it out in Objective Mode?" Allen pleaded with his boss.

Unfortunately for Allen, Shion replied, _"You know we can't get precise data that way! I'll be fine. If something happens, I'll get myself out. Besides, you want to test it out as well, don't you? We spent all night building the native A-LINE protocol…"_

' _Workaholic, too, it seems,_ ' Minato thought again.

Yukari, meanwhile was simply worried for Shion, given all they'd heard already.

Allen, despite wanting to keep his boss safe, couldn't help but say in partial agreement, "Well, yeah, but…"

Shion, as if taking it as a full agreement, declared, _"That settles it! Let's get started."_

Allen sighed in defeat, slumping all the while, before straightening himself up and saying, "All right, then. But if anything happens, I'm going to shut it down from here, so don't press your luck!"

' _Something tells me that won't work,_ ' Minato thought.

' _Be careful, Shion…_ ' Yukari thought.

Shion nodded at Allen's declaration, saying, _"All right, all right…"_

"And don't deviate from the program…!" Allen added at the end.

Shion, in a teasing manner, said, _"Alright… mom!"_

Minato and Yukari both giggled a bit at that - and apparently, so did a few other techies.

Allen, due to knowing Shion for a good while, simply put a hand to his forehead and said, "…Jeez. This is so typical of her." Removing his hand from his forehead, he shook his head and asked himself, "Will she ever stop to think about the hell I go through for her?"

A female techie that had been behind Minato for a bit, with both she and Minato looking at Allen, spoke up to say, "You know, sir, the way you worry about Chief Uzuki all the time, I'm surprised you haven't keeled over already."

"Yeah," Yukari piped up. "I'd almost think you have feelings for her, sir."

Minato didn't say anything, but he did nod his head in agreement with Yukari's statement.

Turning to face Minato's direction as well as Yukari, Allen raised his voice to say, "H… hey! That's enough! Is the 400 level program ready to go?"

Minato nodded again, saying, "We're ready to go, anytime."

Allen then ordered the techies, "Then start up the program! I want detailed reports from every monitoring station. Any abnormalities, and I'm shutting down immediately."

' _He totally has feelings for her,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _If he doesn't, I'll eat my pink sweater._ '

* * *

 _Inside the Encephalon, viewed from outside_

* * *

Shion spoke to KOS-MOS and said, _"KOS-MOS, I'll explain a bit about this place. This place is an imaginary space constructed within the network. It's modeled off of some ruins from early 2000 A.D. Your mission is to fight the main target within the dilapidated building. The target is marked with the red Vector box. There are objects in here that can be detonated. Some are effective if you set them off near the enemy. Use them to your advantage. Now then, let's start the mission."_

KOS-MOS nodded, saying, _"Yes, understood."_

Shion exclaimed at that, _"All right then, let's start the mission!"_

First going to her left, because there was an Attack Drone that had managed to get almost too close to her, Shion found herself next to a ladder. Going up the ladder, she found a doorway and an explodable canister of flammable materials.

Taking the time to target the explosive, Shion fired at it, the resulting explosion helping her deal some damage to the Drones in the same room. She then targeted the door, shooting it down, before she rushed to the Drones. Shooting the one on her left with a Firecracker and a Cherry Bomb, she destroyed it, while KOS-MOS shot the one on the right with two shots of her Blaster. The one in the middle then targeted Shion with its Machine Gun, not quite doing enough damage to seriously hurt her, but enough to make her shoot a Firecracker at it in retaliation… the explosion from it being enough to destroy it.

In the collective materials found with the Drones, there were three Med Kits, both of which could recover health at a low rate. When she looked around the room, Shion found a treasure chest. Opening it, she found two of the Med Kit S items.

' _Interesting,_ ' Minato thought. ' _I guess items from this 'Encephalon' can be used outside of it, too…_ '

Shion then went back down the ladder and tried to avoid the Attack Drone again, only for it to notice her… and have with it two Drone buddies, the one on Shion's right being female and the one to the left being male. Shion quickly shot the female one with a Firecracker and a Cherry Bomb, while KOS-MOS shot the Attack Drone with her Blaster twice. It was then that KOS-MOS was shot by the male Drone, only for a quick defending motion to prevent excessive damage to be dealt, giving Shion enough time to give the soldier-looking drone a knuckle sandwich and a shock that would normally be set to stun mode… destroying it.

' _She's doing well,_ ' Yukari thought. ' _Still, please be careful, Shion…_ '

Taking the path she would've taken to get away from the Attack Drone, Shion found herself running towards a broken down truck, which she shot with her 'destroyable objects' destroyer. Proving it was indeed destroyable, she moved up the stairs that were blocked by the truck, and found her way to a door that was able to be destroyed. Destroying it, she found another Med Kit, before she grabbed it and got out of the derelict building.

Following the path back to the main building, Shion found herself fighting another Attack Drone with Drone buddies, destroying the one on her right with a Firecracker and Cherry Bomb combo. KOS-MOS took the opportunity to shoot the other one with her Blaster twice, while the Attack Drone moved forward and punched 'her', dealing more damage than was appropriate. Shion avenged KOS-MOS by shooting her Firecracker and Cherry Bomb combo again, dealing two critical hits in the same location, causing it to overload.

' _She's doing well, though that could change at any time. Well, let's just see what happens next,_ ' Minato thought, as Shion continued through the exercise.

As soon as Shion got her wits together, she went inside the dilapidated building, leading KOS-MOS to where there might be new battles to be had. The first fight they had was against another of the Drones and Attack Drone combo, where Shion used her ranged attacks to destroy the Drone on the left, while KOS-MOS targeted the one on the right. The Attack Drone shot an Energy Bullet at Shion, who promptly destroyed it with a Firecracker and Cherry Bomb, which was her ranged set of options. After the battle ended, they received a Med Kit.

Going straight to the door, in front of her, she noticed it was locked, and not destroyable. _"Looks like I need a Mission Key to open this door,"_ she mused out loud. Going up the stairs, she found another door that wasn't destroyable, only…

 _"It won't open from this side. I think it's locked,"_ she said.

"Perhaps there's another path on the outside, or maybe some destroyable object on the lower level that opens a new path?" Minato asked.

 _"Oh, thanks, Minato-san,"_ Shion answered. _"I'll go check that right—"_

 _"Who goes there?!"_ a Drone called out.

 _"—now."_

With that, another battle took place, between three Drones and Shion and KOS-MOS. Shion shot the middle Drone with her ranged skills, destroying it, while KOS-MOS attacked the one on the right with a right hook and a somersault kick. The remaining Drone shot KOS-MOS with its machine gun, while Shion went melee on the enemy, destroying it.

After a brief expedition to find any destroyable objects that opened a new path on the lower level near the entrance, Shion remembered, _"Oh, right, there's a platform in the air that had something on it. I could check that."_

Minato shrugged. He'd played a lot of video games in his life, and it seemed a lot of that experience was paying off here.

As soon as Shion made it up to the platform with the box, she destroyed it, revealing an item. Walking up to it, she found that it was a Revive.

After a bit to get back inside the building, she soon got to a doorway, opening it and stepping inside. When she got to the end of the platform and up the stairs at the end that led up to a column with a floor on it, an AGWS appeared through the wall, targeting Shion and KOS-MOS.

Shion took the opportunity to get inside her AGWS, which was all the time she had to do anything while KOS-MOS punched and somersault-kicked the Drone SPX, which then targeted Shion's unit. That was when KOS-MOS opened fire with 'her' Blaster, before Shion made her move, With a fluid motion, she sliced the giant Drone with the unit's sword, taking a huge chunk out of the machine. That was when KOS-MOS punched the dying Drone and destroyed it. They got a Med Kit S for their troubles.

' _And we even have giant mecha,_ ' Minato thought. ' _This is one crazy Sci-Fi world…_ '

At that moment, Allen turned to face Minato and said, "Status check."

Minato replied, "I don't see anything unusual." Turning to face Allen and to allow him to look at the monitor, he said, "All systems are stable. It's looking good. This ought to make up for last month."

"…I sure hope so," Allen said hesitantly.

Another techie said to Allen, "KOS-MOS has reached the determined checkpoint. Entering process 431."

A third techie reported to Allen, "Replacing targets with Type-G Drones. Commencing display."

' _Type-G Drones?_ ' Yukari and Minato thought at the same time, before the display of the Encephalon saw the drones changing shape.

Allen turned to face Minato and Yukari at that moment, saying, "I know you two haven't been with us long enough to know what a Type-G Drone is, so this is your chance to see what it is, based off of the appearances of a couple kinds of Gnosis."

Their eyes widened at that, having heard a bit about Gnosis, and knowing that KOS-MOS was an Anti-Gnosis weapon. "So… those things are meant to simulate Gnosis?" Yukari asked.

"Yes, that's right," Allen answered. He then activated his headset and said to Shion, "Chief, I've changed the settings on the target drones. The next target is keyed to sound so it will only respond if you make a loud noise."

Shion proceeded to move on, going down the stairs next to the side opposite her entrance point. On her right, there was a ladder, which she proceeded to go down. Once down the ladder, she headed over to an open area, which proved to be an area full of junk.

Upon going to her left, she destroyed a box, seeing an item in the remains. Walking over to it, she saw it was an Ether Pack, so she took it. The next box was destroyed after the item in front of it was taken, revealing two Med Kit S's. Seeing a strange doorway being blocked by a broken forklift, she destroyed the forklift, moving over to the door… only to see it was something called a Segment Address, numbered 10 of the total.

Moving back to the other side of the area, she destroyed a box, only to reveal a pair of Drone G1s. Taking the opportunity to attack the one on the right, Shion fired a Firecracker and a Cherry Bomb at the Drone, only for it to take less damage than a regular Drone. That was when both of the new Drones fired energy beams, one at KOS-MOS, the other at Shion… both hit.

Then KOS-MOS fired 'her' blaster at the one on the right twice, knocking it down a few pegs in health, before Shion and KOS-MOS finished it off with a pair of physical attacks… one each. Then the remaining Drone shot another beam at Shion, who proceeded to beat it to an inch of its life with a Firecracker, a Cherry Bomb, and her Spell Ray ability. KOS-MOS merely supplied the coup de grace with overkill ranged attacks. They got two Ether Packs for it.

"Chief, items aren't the only things inside containers," Allen reminded her.

Upon getting everything she could from the junk area, Shion moved back the way she came, this time going to the doorway and opening it. When she found herself in the room she couldn't enter before, she first destroyed what was blocking the doorway on the side she was on, and almost immediately after grabbed what turned out to be the Mission Key. _"Now I can unlock the door!"_ Shion exclaimed.

Upon going to the door nearest her, she unlocked it, before silently walking out to the other door. When she got to the door on the lower level that couldn't be opened before, she slid in the Mission Key at the key panel, unlocking and opening the door.

Shion and KOS-MOS walked further into the dilapidated building, making their way to the red Vector box that would be the target, even as they were being watched by Allen from Minato's station.

"Here we go…" Allen said, as he noticed the box lowering on the platform it was on into the ground below.

Shion was holding a screen in her left hand, observing the changes that were bound to happen, even as the next encounter was due to occur. When a giant Drone of the Type-G series showed up, KOS-MOS suddenly went a bit erratic, a bit of a shock going around her in the process.

Outside the Encephalon, an alarm was blaring, as Allen looked around a short bit. "What's going on?" he asked.

Minato answered, "A brand-new network is being formed within the KOS-MOS mainframe. We've never had a reaction like this before. This is incredible… I've never seen a Net grow so fast! Look at it, sir! Portions of the Encephalon map are evolving!"

Allen looked at the data that was forming on Minato's monitor and said, "What the…"

As for Shion, she was looking around in the room, wondering where the shaking that started happening was coming from. It didn't seem to phase her for long, though, as she said, _"Allen, I'm going to engage the target. Make sure you capture all the data."_

"What?!" Allen cried out to his boss. "You cannot engage right now! You're tapped into KOS-MOS' perception - it's too unstable!"

"I think she's got her mind set on this, sir," Minato remarked. "Short of shutting it down, I don't think we can change her mind."

Yukari looked worriedly at the displays. ' _Shion…_ ' she thought.

 _"Don't worry,"_ Shion said. _"Like Minato said, my mind's set on it. Besides, we can pull it off without trouble."_

"What do you _mean_ , don't worry?! Chief!" Allen cried out in panic, afraid to lose her.

' _Yep, he definitely has feelings for her,_ ' Yukari thought, though she was still worried for Shion, herself.

With that, the fight against the Drone GX started, with Shion immediately going into her AGWS to better fight the program. KOS-MOS shot it twice with 'her' Blaster, not really doing that much damage, especially as it slammed an attack down on 'her' head. KOS-MOS took another turn at it, this time going melee by punching it and kicking it. Then Shion used her AGWS to slice into the Drone and dealt a massive amount of damage, sending it to the ground on its knees, before KOS-MOS finished it off. They acquired an Ether Pack S for their efforts.

Shion looked around at the area, before saying, _"So far, so good…"_ Upon saying that, she faced forward, saying, _"Shift target to Real Mode. We'll test the Hilbert Effect."_

' _Hilbert Effect?_ ' Yukari and Minato thought. Apparently, their selves in this universe hadn't been around long enough to hear about that, either.

"What?! Chief! You're supposed to follow the program…!" Allen cried out, getting Minato and Yukari to look in his direction.

"I take it this wasn't in the schedule yet?" Minato asked.

"Exactly, Minato," Allen said. "This _isn't_ supposed to happen at all…!"

 _"KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert,"_ Shion said, ignoring the banter between Minato and Allen.

 _"Roger. Activating Hilbert Effect,"_ KOS-MOS replied, as Shion activated her screen to record the data again. As the Hilbert Effect started up, red flashing warning symbols and warning sounds came online, signalling a massive problem taking place.

"I knew this would happen!" Allen snarled. "Status!"

"This is bad!" Yukari informed. "Something's wrong in the Encephalon!" Her fingers were flying over her keyboard. "The whole thing could collapse at any moment!"

"What?! What about the Chief?!" Allen questioned, before he looked at a screen to see Shion typing on her screen's keyboard. "Chief! You're in danger! Get out of there now!"

 _"Hold on! Just a little longer!"_ she said, hoping to gain more time.

"Chief!" Allen shouted, slamming his palms into a table between him and a monitor.

"Nerve Impulses in the Limbic System!" Yukari informed. "We've got Kindling!"

"That's _enough_! Shut it down! Pull her out of there, now!" Allen ordered.

"Roger!" Yukari informed. "Entering shutdown command!" A few seconds passed, then… "It's been rejected! The Chief's overriding us!"

"Whaaat?!" Allen cried out, looking at his monitor.

"Ten seconds to Encephalon collapse! Sir!" Minato alerted Allen.

"Dammit!" Allen cried out as he put on a pair of goggles that could manually let him get Shion out.

The environment was breaking down, lines of data code replacing parts of the environment. As Shion watched, the GX Drone was glowing golden and moving randomly, before it collapsed to its knees, arms raised high in the air.

A brighter glow from between its legs directed Shion's vision to what looked like a little girl, with orange-blond hair, blue eyes, and caucasian skin, wearing nothing but a white dress.

Before anything else could happen, Allen popped into the Encephalon, grabbing onto one of Shion's arms.

 _"Chief!"_ Allen cried out, dragging Shion out of there.

* * *

 _Back in the Vector Industries KOS-MOS lab_

* * *

Tossing off his goggles, Allen turned to the chair and cried out, "Chief?!" As he rushed over to the chair, he stumbled a little bit, not enough to fall over.

Soon, the Interconnection was disengaged, letting Shion back into her normal state of mind and body.

When Allen got next to her, Minato in the background, Allen asked Shion, "Are you… all right?"

"Yeah… thanks," she replied. Pushing her glasses up a bit, she asked, "Did I push my luck a little too far this time?"

"Yeah, Chief, I think you did," Minato replied. "That was a bit too close for comfort - right, Allen?"

In response, Allen dropped to the floor, making Shion ask in concern, "Allen?"

"You can't… keep doing this, Chief," he said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

"It really was dangerous, Chief," Yukari replied. "I was worried for a while there."

"Sorry about that… But I bet the data's really good," Shion apologized, bending down to Allen's level and looking at him. "Besides…"

She trailed off, remembering the girl from before, before Allen asked, "Was there something else?"

Yukari and Minato both looked curious, as well.

"Hmm?" Shion asked aloud. "Oh… it's nothing. Well, we better get started on that data." Patting Allen on the shoulder, she fully stood up and continued, "Today's our deadline, so I'm sure they'll be asking for it soon."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Minato remarked. "They do like to be punctual about things."

At that moment, an announcement on the PA was heard, a Bridge Bunny saying, " _Attention, please. We are scheduled to gate out in approximately 3 minutes. All hands, please return to your designated areas immediately. Once again…_ "

Minato and Yukari at least knew about how Hyperspace worked from the memories they'd gained - though it seemed they'd never been in a location where they could witness a Gate-Out from the ship traveling before… they wondered what it would be like…

* * *

 _Outer Space_

* * *

The fleet of ships belonging to the Galaxy Federation finally gated out of hyperspace, the _Woglinde_ taking up the rear, though they seemed to be far away from their designated checkpoint.

* * *

Woglinde _, Bridge_

* * *

"All ships, gate-out complete," a Bridge Bunny said over the PA.

"Shifting main engine to stealth mode," a different Bridge Crewman said. "Maintaining current speed until sector withdrawal."

"Exit from current space set at absolute time 1300 on the 22nd," the first Bridge Bunny remarked. "Seven hours, sixteen minutes, and thirty seconds to withdrawal."

"Next U.M.N. Column in seven hours, thirty-six minutes," the second crewman reported. "All gate jumps from other sectors will remain offline until then."

As the _Woglinde_ cruised on through what seemed to be an asteroid field, the ship's Captain sat back in his seat and said to the XO, "So, we're almost home…"

The XO turned to the Captain and nodded, saying, "Yes, Sir. Our final gate jump is at the next column. We're almost there."

A Bridge Bunny walked up to the two of them and said, "We made it this far; we'll be fine! The odds of contact between columns is statistically low… Besides, this asteroid field we're in is perfect for hiding the fleet from them."

"Um, don't say things like that," another Bridge Bunny remarked. "Murphy has a habit of using statements like that as his cue."

The XO, who was looking at the first Bridge Bunny to speak up, walked down to her level and said in a condescending tone, "So Pollyanna thinks those asteroids are going to protect us." Continuing his tirade, he added, "At least your fellow knows the importance of a Law of Nature."

"I… I'm sorry, Sir," the Bridge Bunny, Pollyanna, said.

The Captain walked down to speak with the XO and said, "A bit testy today, aren't we Commander? Is something wrong?"

"No… Of course not…" the Commander said.

A Bridge Crewman walked over to the two officers and said, "Ever since we picked up that object ten days ago, everyone's been a bit jumpy. And we still have a ways to go before we hit comm-space… I can empathize with the Commander."

"Hm," the Captain replied, nodding.

"Uh… Captain…" a third Bridge Bunny began hesitantly, "can you… uh… debrief us on the current situation? Our original orders from the Galaxy Federation were to investigate the vanished planet and assist the researchers, but ever since we picked up that object, it feels like… everything's changed. What exactly is that thing, anyway?"

"Who knows?" the Captain said with folded arms. "I haven't heard a single thing from the research team. But as I mentioned before, apparently they're after the object, too… That's unofficial info, of course."

"What about the rumor regarding the casualties during the retrieval process?" Pollyanna asked.

"Even if it were true, that's none of our business," the Captain answered. "The research team has their own orders to deal with. The only explicit instructions we've received state… that if there's any salvageable material in the area, their retrieval takes top priority."

The third Bridge Bunny asked in confusion, "Top priority? What does that mean?"

The Commander walked over to her and said, "What it means is, over our very lives."

Pollyanna and the other Bridge Bunny looked at each other with fear in their eyes.

"You two Nimrods didn't understand what top priority meant?" the Bridge Crewman who had empathized with the Commander snarked.

"We _resent_ that comment on us being _Nimrods_!" Pollyanna and the other girl shouted as one.

"Now, now, no need to scare them," the Captain replied. "Those orders merely reflect the importance of this operation to the Galaxy Federation Government, that's all. Just stay sharp and be careful."

"That makes sense, sir," the Bridge Crewman remarked. "The entire fleet was renovated for this mission. Besides, if there's an emergency, we've got the trump card to fall back on."

"Ahh, yes, speaking of which…" the Captain said, getting the Bridge Crewman's attention. "What's the latest on that situation?"

"They're scheduled to turn in the A-7 reports today," the Bridge Crewman reported, holding up a screen with some information on it.

"A-7, eh…" the Captain said, turning away from the others and heading to his chair. "Only one step away from fully operational. It's about time, I suppose…" Turning to face the Bridge Crewman, he said, "Lieutenant, please ask Chief Uzuki to come to the bridge once her data's ready. Ask her to bring all the previous data as well."

"Yes, Sir," the Lieutenant replied.

Down below in the forward crew pit, one of the Crew Members asked, "What trump card? Was he referring to that Battle Android?"

"That's right. You didn't know?" the one he asked replied while typing away.

"Wow, so it's true…" the first Crew Member remarked.

"Hey, I heard that project's really behind schedule," a Bridge Bunny that looked like Pollyanna said to the first Crew Member.

"You can't blame 'em," the second Crew Member replied. "There were casualties during their last boot-up test two years ago. They're being more careful this time."

"It's hard to believe they're making an android in this day and age," the first Crew Member remarked. "Only place I've ever seen them is in old space novels."

"Well, trump card or not, it's still an experiment," the second Crew Member said. "And it ain't like one android's going to make that much of a difference. The whole project's just a chance for those Vector guys to show off. Someone's outdated hobby, that's all."

"I've heard that even their commercial models differ greatly between those that have seen action, and those that haven't," the Bridge Bunny remarked.

"They say ignorance is bliss… Looks like they were right," the Commander said, having overheard the conversation and gone down to their level.

"Commander?!" the Bridge Bunny said, startled.

"I'm just envious, that's all," he said cryptically, looking out into the distance, causing the crew to look at him strangely.

* * *

 _Vector Industries Lab_

* * *

Shion was sorting through the data that had accumulated from the latest KOS-MOS test, which was taking a bit longer than usual, when she sighed in dejection. "I swear…" she said. "Why is it that I have so much work to do and next to no time to actually finish said work? I mean, really, all it is these days is me having to sort through all this data when I honestly should be in the Thir—"

A beeping noise distracted her long enough from her thought process to let her forget about it.

"What the… where's this beeping coming from?" she asked aloud.

Soon enough, she discovered the source of the beeping, which was coming from her work computer.

"Wait… why is my work computer making this noise?" she asked out loud. Taking a closer look, she noticed something off about it, something… "What's this 'DSP' program? And who installed it on my computer?"

Taking a bit to dig around for who installed it, she accidentally clicked on the wrong thing, which made the computer nearly shut down from overworking itself. As it stood, however, she saw something that she never thought she'd see in her life… an image of something that was 'lost' since people left Lost Jerusalem.

"What on Earth… is that?" she asked herself softly. "It looks like a cylinder with strange engravings on it all over." It looked to be so extremely interesting, but if this was just a prototype for something bigger, then—

"Chief? What are you staring at the computer screen like that for?"

Shion turned to look at the source of the voice, seeing a very concerned Allen. "Allen!" she cried out in shock. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"H-Hey, it's not like I _wanted_ to scare you like that!" Allen countered. "I was honestly really concerned for your well-being!"

Shion adopted a look of surprise upon hearing that. "Really? You were concerned for my well-being?" she asked.

Allen nodded at that. "Chief, don't you remember how much strain your eyes would take from looking in front of a computer screen?" he asked. "I mean, seriously, that's something you can't rely on glasses to circumvent… and that's not going into how you were leaning forward into the computer, with most everyone else looking at you with what I think is lust in their eyes from the position you were in."

Shion blinked at that statement, before she felt something tight in her shirt… she looked down and saw that her chest was larger than she allowed it, the bindings she used on it having fallen down by that point.

" _Now_ do you see why I'm concerned for your well-being, Chief?" Allen asked. "Still, I don't get why you have to bind them… doesn't it hurt a lot more to bind them than it does to support them otherwise?"

Shion looked at Allen, a large blush forming on her face, before she mumbled, "They're too big…"

Allen, for once, didn't say anything right off for about fifteen seconds. When Shion was about to leave to redo the bindings, he finally spoke up with, "I see… perhaps you should see a doctor?"

Shion looked at Allen for a brief moment, before looking down at her chest. "Er… actually, I think I might keep them this way, if only to retrain myself in martial arts," she admitted.

Allen felt his eyes widen slightly, but he stopped himself from being obvious about it. "Well, if you say so… just don't use us as training dummies, Chief, please!" he begged at the end.

Shion nodded in understanding. "Very well, Allen," she said. "I won't use you all as training dummies." Turning back to look at the computer screen, she noticed the cylinder image was missing. "Huh? What happened to the Terminal?" she asked.

"Terminal?" Allen asked in confusion. "Don't you mean computer, Chief? As for what happened, it must've rebooted while you were busy elsewhere."

Shion looked at Allen and felt that she was being reminded of a common phrase or something. "Oh… right," she said. "Thanks…"

If only she knew what was bound to happen over the course of the next couple years because of her seeing the image…

* * *

 **Xamusel: Distortion FINISH!**

 **…** **wait. Why did I do that** ** _again_** **? It doesn't make any sense!**

 **Meh… oh well. I can get over it at some point. Still, in any event, here's the review corner.**

 **Wait… since I'm just posting the story in one night, it wouldn't make sense to even** ** _have_** **the review corner, would it? I didn't think of it soon enough… stupid me. I really need to think these things through more.**

 **Now… this chapter has another major deviation from canon in it: That cylinder Shion saw is actually from one of the most difficult franchises of video games out there. Why we decided to include it is important for during what would normally amount to Xenosaga III… you'll see early uses of it during the early portions of this story. We'll be continuing the updates for this story primarily for now.**

 **Now… Takeshi's turn!**

* * *

 **Takeshi Yamato: OK, as I said in the Prologue, we've gotten rid of most of the Tutorial Text… not ALL of it, just the stuff that broke the Fourth Wall - as I said, I felt the Fourth-Wall-Breaking was in rather poor taste last time. And while we will still have some item locations, this is not going to be just a walkthrough of the game - especially when we start mixing in the Kamen Rider Kiva plot more thoroughly, along with introducing Nanoha once more.**

 **Speaking of Nanoha, we do intend to actually get to the sidestory involving what happens in the MGLN 'verse in her absence this time. We'll have Jewel Seeds, Magic Battles, an Alternate Kamen Rider Gaim plot… and quite possibly one of the most badass Armored Superheroes in history, who went up against Lex Luthor in one of ScrewAttack's Death Battles on YouTube on April 29th, 2015.**

 **…** **but, that'll come in due time. See you in the next update! :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**Xamusel: Well… here's Chapter 2 of Foreign Saga. Please note that, much like the previous chapter, it has content from the previous version of events… except much different overall. If you want to know how different… you'll just have to read and see.**

 **Well, there's also a scene where this will upgrade to the whole reason why we need the M rating… in this chapter, to boot. Hopefully you guys can stomach that much, at least, if anything.**

 **Now, then… The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning. Rebel One,** ** _ACTION_** **!**

* * *

 **A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE**  
 _Story written by Xamusel and Takeshi Yamato_

* * *

 **Chapter 002:** Before Shit Hit the Fan

* * *

 _Vector Industries Lab_

* * *

"…Sure. I'll be there in 30 minutes," Shion said over the comm link. With that, she shut the link off.

"They certainly didn't waste any time," Allen remarked.

"See?" Shion asked. "I'm usually right about these things."

"Chief Uzuki," Yukari said as she walked up, "here's the data you requested. Will that be all?"

Taking the data, Shion said, "Thanks. This should be good enough." Putting the data down at her station, she got up and said, "I'll take care of the rest." With that, she walked over to where KOS-MOS was sleeping, with Minato on the other side of the container, making some minor adjustments to KOS-MOS.

Another techie walked up to Shion and asked, "Um… Chief… Do you have a second?"

Shion turned to face the techie and answered, "Yes?"

"Um, the military is expecting actual combat data from us," the tech said. "Is it right for us to keep giving them simulated data like this?"

"Well, I must admit, you got me there," Shion replied. "But honestly, if it were up to me, I'd keep her here… safe in her dream world forever."

"But… why are you so afraid to put her to real work, when you push her so hard in simulations?" the techie asked. "I can't wait to see KOS-MOS up and completely functional." He paused for a moment. "Couldn't you at least try taking her up to Phase 3? That should be no problem for her by now."

"Phase 3 in a simulated battle-config?" Allen asked as he walked up to the two of them. "Come on… no need to wake up our little princess for that." He slapped the tech across the back, getting him to shut up for a bit. "Here's a summary of KOS-MOS' main equipment from the Second Division. This should help you with the guys upstairs," he said to Shion, handing her some extra data.

"Thanks. I'm sure it will," Shion said.

Allen then asked Shion, "By the way, Chief, what did you think of the M.W.S. and the A.G.W.S.? It's just dummy data created inside the Encephalon, but it was pretty exciting stuff, wasn't it? If neither had problems during this test, all that remains are the functionality tests using actual models."

"It worked pretty well," she replied. "The M.W.S. in particular felt right to me. I sense something contrived in that, though."

"Well, I hear Miyuki is closely involved with the M.W.S. I'm sure she's up to something again," Allen said.

"Oh, by the way, could you send the Connection Gear data to Headquarters for me?" Shion asked. "You know the Vaporizer Plug-in that we used to destroy obstacles? I wonder if they're also going to manufacture it based on our test data? I swear, they pile everything they can on us, under the pretext of testing KOS-MOS…"

Allen said, "Well it's inevitable, considering they have a lot of other concerns, like the budget."

Shion nodded, and made her way to the exit of the room. "Okay, see you later!" she said, as she headed out the door.

"Okay, good luck!" Allen called after her, waving as she left the room.

While everyone was looking at him expectantly, he cleared his throat a bit, saying, "Well! Back to work!"

* * *

 _With Shion_

* * *

Shion headed down the corridor to head over to the Bridge when she noticed she got an email about Vector releasing a new model of their product. After taking the time to read all of her emails, she spoke with her AI about stuff, before she hurried over to the Bridge.

* * *

 _Back with Minato and Yukari_

* * *

Allen was walking in the area, seeing Minato and Yukari stand up to take a stretch break, and said, "Okay, you two, time to take a break. You've been at it more than almost everyone else, being more involved than ever, so… you deserve a chance to go off-duty."

"Wait, really?" Yukari asked, unsure of how to take this.

"It would make sense to let us take a break, Yukari," Minato said. "After all, we're being pushed harder than others by our own choices… we need the break, more than anything."

Yukari nodded. It would be a good chance to talk in private, truly get their bearings in this new world. "Alright, then," she replied. "Thank you, sir!"

Allen nodded, saying, "You're welcome. Take the time you need to get a true breather. I'll have a couple others take over for you."

With a bow, Yukari and Minato both headed out of the room, straight in the direction of their boss for the time being.

Once the door had closed behind them, Yukari remarked, "Well, this is definitely a lot different than Iwatodai… I mean, Humanity actually living among the stars?"

Minato nodded, saying, "Yeah… Humanity seems to have lost Earth, or, as it's locally called, First Jerusalem, close to 4000 years ago. How that happened is anyone's guess… But, what is clear is that people are looking for our ancestral home, and they won't stop until they find it."

"You can say that again…" Yukari said, nodding in agreement.

"And the Gnosis…" Minato continued. "I've never seen any, well, aside from the Type-G Drones now, I guess… but I've definitely heard of them, and they sound like bad news."

"Indeed," Yukari said. "Maybe the Hilbert Effect was supposed to make it possible to defeat a regular Gnosis?"

"Food for thought, that," Minato answered with a shrug.

"Well, hopefully when we get to Second Miltia, we can find out more," Yukari remarked. "In the meantime, might as well enjoy the trip."

It was at that time that the door opened behind them, showing Allen rush up to them. "Oh, good, you're still here!" Allen said, out of breath slightly. After calming down and getting his breath back, he held out the report materials Shion forgot earlier and asked, "Could you please get these to the Chief? She forgot to take them with her earlier."

Yukari nodded. "Sure thing, sir," she replied. "Still, you need to ask her out already! I can tell you have feelings for her."

"When I see her next, I'll do so," Allen promised. "She might be on her way to the Bridge right now… could you go find her?"

"Gotcha," Minato replied. "Well, let's get going, Yukari-chan."

"Alright, Minato-kun," Yukari replied, as they started out again.

"WAIT!" Allen called out, causing them to stop in mid step. "You forgot the report materials!"

"Oh… right…" Minato replied sheepishly, as he went back and picked them up. "Thanks, Allen-san."

"Don't mention it," Allen replied. "Oh, and drop the honorifics, please. I'm not really descended from a family that requires it." Looking at Yukari, he said, "Same goes for you."

"Alright, Allen," Yukari replied. "Come on, Minato-kun, let's get these to Shion-san."

"Gotcha," Minato replied, as they set out once again - this time with the reports in hand.

* * *

 _On the way to the Bridge, with Shion_

* * *

While Minato and Yukari were hurrying after their superior, Shion was walking through the hangar bay, having gotten sidetracked by the Zohar and then berated for being a civvie on a military ship by the head of the research team. When she managed to get to the way that would take a direct route to the Bridge…

"Chief!"

She turned, and saw Minato and Yukari running up to her. "Minato-san? Yukari-san?" she asked. "What is it?"

Once they reached her, they took a few seconds to catch their breaths, before Minato handed her the report documents. "You left these in the lab, ma'am," he said. "Probably not the best of things to do when you're supposed to be delivering them to the Bridge."

"Oh, right," Shion said, bashful at the lack of decorum. "Thank you, both of you."

"No worries," Minato replied. "To be honest, Allen had let us go on break, but then caught up to us so we could deliver them to you."

"Why he wouldn't do it, himself, I have no idea," Yukari added. "It's clear he likes you a lot."

"He does?" Shion asked, shock appearing on her face. "Is that why he always goes through such difficulties for me?"

"Most likely," Minato replied. "It's also likely why he worries about you so much… honestly, you should go out with him, if only to see how well it would work out between you two."

"Right," Shion said with a nod. "Okay, I'll see if I can go out with him… though, given my luck with maintaining a relationship, it might not work out."

They blinked at that, then Minato said, "I sense a story there, but you'll never know until you try."

"You're right, there _is_ a story there," Shion admitted. "However, now's not the time for it, since I have to get to the bridge. You two better continue your break now."

"Alright," Yukari replied. "But it might be good for you to share that story sometime!" After making sure Shion had the report documents, Yukari and Minato went on their way.

Shion walked on through the corridor as Minato and Yukari headed back to their rooms—

And behind her, the girl in the white dress appeared once more…

Shion looked back behind her, seeing nothing but a blue butterfly, one that must've followed her from the hangar bay where the Zohar was at.

"What's wrong, Shion-san?" Yukari asked.

"Huh?" Shion looked at Minato and Yukari, both of whom were looking at her worriedly. "Nothing… Oh I'm just not myself today…"

"Maybe you should get some rest, yourself, after you finish delivering the reports?" Minato suggested.

"Yeah, I—" was all Shion could say before her email buzzer went off. "Huh? Who could that be?"

Yukari and Minato watched as Shion brought up her email. "More Realian maintenance?" Yukari asked. "They ask you for help a bit more often than they should…"

"Isn't it a violation of regulations to deal with other departments?" Minato asked.

"Not to mention they're expecting you on the Bridge," Yukari remarked.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Shion replied. "I can't just brush them off - besides, it's on the way, and I have some time."

"At least let one or both of us go with you, to make sure you get done in time," Yukari requested.

"Alright, I guess that works," Shion replied. "You can both come along - plus, your skills might help out a bit." With that, they walked on over to the corridor to take them to the Realian Maintenance section, until…

"Oh, I forgot that I need to bring the data for fine-tuning Realians with me," Shion said. "I'll get it from my room and be right back." With that, she headed into her room and came straight out, after getting the Maintenance Data.

"Alright, let's get this done," Minato remarked. "The sooner we can do this, the sooner we can get Shion-san to the Bridge."

As soon as those words left Minato's lips, Shion's email buzzer went off again, signifying a new email… this time from Shion's friend Miyuki. After taking the time to read it, she walked on forward, over to the Realian Maintenance section. "Time to get to work, you two," she said.

"Right," Yukari replied. This would be the first time she'd ever done any actual Realian maintenance, even before her soul from Iwatodai had been anchored in this body, but she looked forward to it.

* * *

 _Back in the KOS-MOS Lab_

* * *

Allen was walking and checking everything out at the individual stations for Shion, making sure everyone was doing their work, when he stopped by Shion's station. With a deep sigh, he said, "If only I knew what caused her to talk about the computer with an out of place word…" At that point, her computer's screen blinked to life, showing… "Huh?! What's my DSP doing on the Chief's computer?!"

Thinking quickly, Allen pulled out a handheld computer that was in his pocket, using his authorization to Shion's computer to access it and try to uninstall the DSP… key word there being 'try'.

Allen was in the middle of manually uninstalling the program when he accidentally activated it, transferring the program completely from Shion's computer to his handheld device and sounding off a word, "Kudakero."

"'Shatter'?" Allen asked in confusion, before he heard a shattering noise come from in front of him. "What the…?!"

Indeed, the situation was literally going down the crapper, as Allen accidentally brought forth a being into the _Woglinde_ that shouldn't have been there… and it was seen by the rest of the crew and techies in the lab.

"Deputy Chief Ridgeley!" one of the techs yelled. "What did you just _summon_?!"

"I-I don't know!" Allen exclaimed back at the tech. "I was just trying to get a program off of the Chief's computer when _this_ happened!"

 ** _"_** ** _I am a Hua Po of the Jihao Tribe, pathetic humans!"_** the being stated, although only Allen was able to understand it at present. **_"Which of you summoned me with a Demon Summoning Ritual or the equivalent?"_**

Allen, due to not being dragged out of his comfort zone before now, was literally shaking and shivering. "D-D-Demon Summoning Ritual?!" he cried out in surprise. "How was _I_ supposed to know that the DSP was a digital Demon Summoning Ritual?!"

"You can understand that thing?!" the same tech questioned Allen.

 ** _"_** ** _Were_** **you** ** _the one to summon me, human?"_** the Hua Po questioned Allen. **_"If so, then understand that I demand proper respect from someone like yourself for the rest of existence!"_** With that, the Hua Po conjured an orb of fire and primed it at Allen. **_"Agi!"_** the demon cried out, tossing the orb at him.

The orb of fire would've hit Allen if he stood still, instead of dodging just in time…

* * *

 _In the Realian Maintenance Lab_

* * *

Shion, Yukari and Minato arrived at the lab, Shion announcing, "Hello! You rang?"

"My apologies, Miss Uzuki," the head of Realian Maintenance apologized. "It seems we're constantly in need of your help." He then noticed Yukari and Minato. "And you brought additional help, too! That should speed things up."

"It's no trouble at all, Lieutenant," Shion answered. "I want everyone to be healthy and happy too, after all. So… what's the problem today?"

"Well, I'm trying to teach them some new battle algorithms to better reflect the unit's reorg," he said, "but the integration's not going very smoothly."

Yukari looked at the monitor for the Realian maintenance and said, "You're right. He's rejecting the data."

Shion took some steps over to the monitor and said, "Let's see…" After getting to the keyboard, she started typing, helping get the data up to speed.

After that was done, she asked, "Let's see, we just need to check the Realians lying on the maintenance beds, right?"

"Yes, thank you for your help," the Lieutenant replied.

"Let's split up, then," Minato said.

"Right," Yukari said.

"Good idea," Shion said.

The three separated, each going to a different set of maintenance beds and talking to the Realians there. Yukari went to one set where there was one that seemed to have a fear of battle, and another one that seemed to have a crush on Allen.

Shion helped adjust one that afterwards remarked that he felt that a weight had been lifted, then another combat Realian that she ended up talking to about how she wished they didn't have to fight.

Minato, meanwhile, got a Realian that had been trying to study literature, but seemed to be having problems understanding it.

"Well, we've made some adjustments, but please contact Third Division once we return," Shion said. "I recommend they receive more intensive counseling soon."

"I'll be sure to do so," the Lieutenant said. "You know, I'm really impressed… Providing Realian psych support on top of developing KOS-MOS. I hear even specialized counselors have a hard time…"

"Oh, I'm just making the most of what my mentor taught me," Shion said. "I'm glad I could be of help."

"It was my first time doing this, but it was fairly easy," Yukari remarked.

"Yeah," Minato added. "Wasn't too difficult."

"Besides, I always wanted to work in the Third Division…" Shion admitted. "Actually, I'm thinking about requesting a transfer once my current work's finished."

"But Vector's First R&D Division has the best researchers in the organization!" the Lieutenant argued with Shion. " _Everyone_ knows not just anyone can get in there. Are you sure that you want to transfer?"

"Oh, yes," Shion replied. "Besides, my family's always asking, 'How did _you_ get assigned to the First Division? There must have been a mistake in the paperwork…' Who knows, maybe they're right." Turning to face a Realian as a door opened, she walked over to it and continued, "Besides… I want to learn so much more about them."

"What's learning about _them_ going to do for _you_?" asked a new voice from the doorway.

"Lieutenant Virgil!" the Lieutenant in charge of the Realian Maintenance section said in surprise.

Looking at each other, Yukari and Minato thought, ' _Who's he?_ '

Walking over to one of the Realians was a man in a pilot's suit, with blond hair, teal eyes, and _heavy_ scarring. He leaned down and sniffed the air around the Realian. "Their stench…" he remarked.

"What?" Shion asked.

"It reeks," the man, Lieutenant Virgil, remarked as if he hadn't heard her. "I can't get their rotten odor out of my system." He looked up at Shion. "Can't you smell it? It makes me sick to my stomach."

"What are you…?" Shion began. It was at this time that she saw the scarring for what it really was.

"Chief?" Yukari asked Shion.

"You alright with this creep?" Minato asked his boss.

"That's enough!" the other Lieutenant shouted. "You've got your orders from the Lieutenant Commander, didn't you? One of the goals of this operation is to enhance combat support between the A.G.W.S. and the new-model Realians! And yet you're…"

"Support? Ha!" Virgil retorted. "In a battle against _them_ , the last thing I want to worry about is supporting a bunch of untested Weapons-Grade Realians!"

"Ummm…" Shion interrupted, getting Virgil's attention. "Excuse me, but these people are highly qualified soldiers…"

"These _people_?! You're treating equipment like people?" Virgil interrupted, walking away from the Realian he was next to.

"You really shouldn't say things like that!" Shion countered. "These people have the same intellect and emotions as us." Turning to walk to Lieutenant Virgil, who was facing away from her, she continued, "And the Miltia Charter clearly spelled out the basic human rights of Realians when it was ratified in 4763."

Turning his head to Shion, Virgil said, "What a load of crap… Get off your soapbox!" Turning around to fully face her, he continued, "You act noble and preach about humanity, but in the end, they're just equipment as far as your company is concerned. Or maybe… more like merchandise…"

Minato was starting to get rather angry with the man known as Lieutenant Virgil, though he didn't know how to strike him without getting in trouble, not even with a hidden weapon…

" _Young one,_ " a voice that sounded a lot like Orpheus said in his head. " _Tell me to Bash his head, and I'll do it. You'll be able to get away with it, too, in case anyone asks questions._ "

' _Right… thanks, Orpheus,_ ' Minato thought.

"We don't treat them anything like equipment or merchandise!" Shion countered angrily.

' _Bash his head!_ ' Minato thought.

"Then why do you—"

 ***CRASH***

Lieutenant Virgil suddenly went down to the ground, mostly by an invisible force that hit him on the top of his head.

Almost everyone looked at him, wondering what was going on. "Part of me wants to ask if he's alright, but he's an asshole," Yukari remarked.

The Lieutenant in charge of the area sighed, before heading over to Virgil to check for a pulse. "Well," he said upon getting the pulse, "he's alive - if barely. He's definitely not combat ready at this rate."

"Might want to see about getting him to the infirmary, if only to get him out of here," Minato remarked. "Don't want his bigotry contaminating the air."

"Right," one of the human female scientists for the section said, going to a console.

Shion asked aloud, looking at Virgil's prone body, "Is he… A DME addict?"

"DME Addict?" Yukari asked. "What does that mean?"

"It's someone that eats the flesh of Realians, searching for a type of cell that leads to what happens when they eat enough of the stuff," Shion said, feeling disgusted. "The biggest giveaway is the scarring on his face and possibly the rest of his body."

Minato winced. "Ouch…" he said.

"My apologies, Miss Uzuki," the head scientist replied, walking up to her. "He wasn't always like that, but then… something… happened."

Shion turned to face him, asking, "Is he an old… acquaintance?"

With a nod, the scientist explained, "We were classmates at the military academy." Walking to Shion's left, he continued, "And I've been stuck with him since then." Turning to face her again, he said, "…It was Miltia."

"I see…" Yukari muttered, her expression going downcast. Minato put an arm around her comfortingly, remembering that this universe's versions of themselves had actually been on Miltia during the Miltian Conflict, and had actually piloted a giant robot (an A.M.W.S. if he remembered correctly). The mech in question, which shared a name with his lead Persona, was always kept in a form of subspace storage, waiting for if the two of them needed it.

Shion also had a downcast expression, as she muttered, "I see… So… that's why."

"You knew about that, huh?" the scientist asked both Shion and Yukari. "Then again, anyone planning to join the Third Division would know, Miss Uzuki… though, I'm not sure why you know, Miss Takeba, considering your specialties."

"I… I'm _from_ Miltia…" Yukari replied, sorrowfully. "My dad… my dad was a scientist there… when the conflict started he had Mom take me and leave… He said he needed to stay to take care of something… I… I never saw him again…"

Minato nodded, glad she hadn't mentioned anything else - likely a good idea for the Orpheus to remain a secret for now.

"As for me, I…" Shion started to say, unsure how to say it. She then lifted her head and said it in the best way possible, "I'm _from_ Miltia, too."

"Huh?" the scientist asked.

"Of course, no one's allowed to go there anymore…" Shion said, turning to walk over to a different part of the room. "My family moved to Second Miltia when they transferred the capital after the war… And my brother still lives there, alone."

"Oh, I see…" the scientist said, looking down. Looking up again, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back painful memories."

"Oh, it's all right," Shion replied. "After all, it's something we must never forget about." She looked at one of the Realians. "For our sake, and theirs as well."

"Yeah," Minato replied. "Anyway, Shion-san, you still need to get to the Bridge, right?"

At that moment, Shion's email alert sounded out, causing her to look at it for a short bit. "Oh, no! I'm running late! I don't know how that happened, but I have to report to the bridge! Sorry, I'll come back to check on them later! Bye!" With that, she ran out the door, headed to the bridge from there.

"Ack! Wait for us, Chief!" Yukari and Minato exclaimed in sync, as they ran off after Shion.

The three ran out, the door closing behind them.

* * *

 _Several Minutes Later_

* * *

It took them a short while, but they finally made it to the Elevator to the Bridge.

"Well, here we are," Minato remarked. "You want us to join you up there, Shion-san?"

"If you want to, yes," Shion answered. "Still… I'd appreciate it if people could quit making me go against the schedule, like with Mr. Holgar and his drilling operation."

"Right…" Yukari said. "By the way, what's the Drilling Passport for, anyway?"

"Hmm?" Shion asked, before taking it out. "Oh, right. It's for doing some drilling activities at set locations."

"Personally, I think the only good thing you got was the Med Kit that he gave you," Minato quipped.

"Maybe…" Shion replied. "Still, I wonder what was with that email Miyuki sent…"

"What do you mean, Shion-san?" Yukari asked.

"I mean, that plan she had to design a new weapon for KOS-MOS," Shion replied. "I know she's crowdsourcing it to get it done faster, but she's still going behind the director's back with this."

"Well," Minato said. "Perhaps you need to mention this to the director as soon as possible, but not too soon?"

"Possibly…" Shion answered. "Well, I'm heading to the Bridge - you want to join me?"

Looking at each other, Minato and Yukari nodded, before joining Shion in the elevator.

The ride was only a few seconds, before the platform opened up onto the Bridge.

Shion walked up to the Captain. "Apologies for being late," she said.

"Don't worry about it," the Captain replied. "Now that you're here, can you show us KOS-MOS' data?"

"Yes, sir, right away," Shion replied.

* * *

 _Quite a few minutes later_

* * *

"I see," the Commander said. "I understand the basic specs." After a moment's pause, he asked, "So, where's the actual field data?"

"Well, it's not quite ready…" Shion answered. "All I can provide today is up to A-7."

"So you don't have it?" the Commander asked.

Before Shion could answer that question, however, the sound of a very urgent email came from her handheld computer. "Huh?" she asked herself. "What could this be about?" She took out her computer to check… and gasped when she read the message.

"Chief Uzuki, is something the matter?" the Captain asked.

The Commander rolled his eyes, before saying, "I'm positive that she was told the field data was left behind with her ability to produce it on her—"

"I'm sorry, there was an incident at the lab, and I have to help sort things out!" Shion bowed, before rushing to the elevator. "Could you two cover for me, Minato-san, Yukari-san?" Before she could get the answer, she went down the elevator.

At that moment, Minato got an email. "Hmm? Who's contacting me _now_?" he asked. Upon looking at the email, he implied a facepalm. "Of course… Allen's going to get an earful from the Chief for this one."

The Commander looked at Minato and demanded, "What could you be talking about in this case?! How could the Deputy Chief get an earful for your superior's mistakes?!"

Minato looked at the Commander and answered, "The email says, and I quote, 'Sorry, Minato, I accidentally used a DSP to make a mess of the KOS-MOS Lab earlier… did you get any notifications that we were under attack while you were out of the Lab?' End quote."

Everyone on the bridge was confused. "What's a DSP?" the Commander asked.

Everyone else could only shrug, including Minato and Yukari, before the Commander's personal comm unit went off. "Argh! Who's calling me…" he muttered. He then paused.

"Is there a problem?" the Captain asked.

"Oh, uh, no," the Commander replied. "Something urgent's come up - if you'll excuse me." The Commander then left.

"I wonder what's wrong?" the Captain asked after the Commander had left.

"Who knows?" Minato asked the Captain with another shrug.

* * *

 _Later, outside the Vector Staff Quarters_

* * *

"Thanks for the help, you two," Shion replied outside the door to her room.

"You're welcome, Shion-san," Yukari replied. "Still, remember when we told you about Allen, and your mentioning your history with relationships, and that there was a story behind that? Well… I'd like to hear it now, if you don't mind."

"I'm kind of curious, as well," Minato remarked.

"Well…" Shion said. "I used to have a boyfriend, a man named Kevin. He was a great guy to be around, but… well, during the boot-up test two years ago, there was an incident that took his life. I… I haven't been able to get over his death yet, so…"

"Oh…" Yukari replied, looking downcast. "I see…"

"Sorry to hear that," Minato remarked. "Still… would he want to see you mourning for him like this?"

"Well… no, I don't think so," Shion answered. "Thanks for reminding me about that."

"You're welcome," Minato remarked. "Anyway, what all was that stuff we got on our way to the Bridge and back here? I know there was another Passport aside from that Drill one…"

"Well, Allen had arrived shortly before we got back here to give us the Battle Passport I forgot to get earlier," Shion replied. "Not only that, but that game of 'tag' was interesting, in that I had to outrun the soldiers to get what they wanted me to obtain upon winning… it was an interesting experience."

"Yeah…" Yukari replied. "And then you got that message for a package being delivered… Miyuki sent you that M.W.S. you used in the Encephalon, right?"

"Yes, indeed," Shion answered. "Then I spent my money getting some Bio Spheres and an Ether Pack, which I felt was worth the effort, really."

"Chief, you have _got_ to quit blowing your cash like that," Minato said, palming his face as he did so.

"Agreed," Yukari remarked. "I mean, yeah, I splurge sometimes, myself, but usually it's better to save up, in case something expensive you want becomes available."

"Well… you're right, you two," Shion admitted. "Still, back to relationship issues, where are you two going to take each other's virginity?"

They blinked. Minato knew that his 'local self' and local Yukari declared their feelings to each other just two days prior, while they were in the middle of traveling through Hyperspace, but… how did Shion know about it?

"Oh, don't give me that look," Shion said, teasingly. "I've noticed the ways you look at each other are nothing short of love for the other, despite not acting on your feelings yet. Quit dragging your feet into the dirt and get on with it, already, you two!" Pushing the two of them to Minato's room on the ship, she said, "Get in there and do your thing! Don't come out unless it's an emergency, or if you finish doing the deed. That's an order, y'hear?!"

"A-alright," Yukari replied, as the door closed behind them. She then looked at Minato. "So… I guess our local selves…"

"Had yet to actually go at it, in spite of the opportunities…" Minato replied. "Yeah… definitely kinda weird, and confusing when you compare it to our Iwatodai memories… didn't we already do the deed right after we got back to the dorm on the first day of school? That didn't translate to our current bodies, it seems…"

"True," Yukari said, nodding. "I just want to make sure we can have kids regardless of where we are…" She then felt that there was some pink dusting her face.

Minato blushed, too. "Well… would you like to… make babies with me here?" he asked hesitantly. "So we can be parents?"

"U-uh… well… oh, why not?" Yukari answered. "I love you, Minato." With that, she moved to kiss Minato, begging for entrance into his mouth.

Minato opened his mouth to allow her tongue entry, even as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, reaching out to massage her breasts through her jacket.

Yukari moaned into the kiss as she helped Minato get his pants off, freeing his forming erection, before she started massaging it to speed up the erection.

Minato grunted in pleasure as Yukari massaged his cock, even as he slipped her skirt down revealing her panties (which were pink, of course), and then began rubbing her slit through the fabric.

Yukari felt her breath hitch slightly from the rubbing Minato was providing, even as she finished massaging his cock, before she removed her mouth from his.

"Yukari… I love you so much…" Minato told her.

"I love you too, Minato," Yukari said… before she went down to put her mouth around Minato's cock.

"Ungh…" Minato grunted, putting his hands on Yukari's head and massaging it. "Yukari… that feels so good…"

Yukari didn't reply as she started sucking on Minato's cock, even having it deepthroat her, to make sure that she could get the whole thing covered.

"Ungh… Agh…" Minato grunted, shifting the positioning of his hands on her head before gently pushing her back and forth on his cock…

As it stood, though, Yukari seemed to be displeased by the pacing… with a thought in mind, she opened her mouth around Minato's thick and long cock and said, "Rough." Right after that, she closed her mouth around it again, going back to the sucking.

Minato nodded. "Alright, Yukari, I just hope you can take it…" he said, before he greatly increased his pace, thrusting in and out of her mouth like it was a pussy.

Yukari moaned around the cock in her mouth, before she felt her throat do something that wasn't normal to her knowledge… it started to expand slightly, as Minato's cock was expanding in her mouth and throat.

"Yukari… I'm gonna cum…!" Minato warned, feeling his cock beginning to throb.

Yukari looked at Minato in the eyes, pleading with her eyes for him to cum inside her mouth and throat.

"Here it comes!" Minato called out, before he orgasmed, his cum shooting out of his cock and into her mouth.

Yukari barely had the window of opportunity to swallow the cum safely, but she pulled it off, swallowing the whole thick stream like it was water.

After Minato had ridden out his orgasm, he pulled out of Yukari's mouth with a wet 'pop'. "You ready for the main event, or would you like some other attention first?" he asked.

"The main event, please," Yukari said, pulling her panties off to reveal her sopping wet pussy. "I can't hold it back any longer, Minato…"

"Alright…" Minato said as he picked her up bridal-style and carried her to his bed, before setting her down and getting atop her, lining up with her pussy. "I love you, Yukari."

"I love you, too, Minato," Yukari said, even as she braced for impact. "Claim me as your own like no one else can…"

Minato nodded, before thrusting into her, breaking her hymen in this universe and sheathing himself within her in a single thrust.

Yukari let out a mixed cry of pain and pleasure, before she started feeling more pleasure than pain, especially since Minato kept on thrusting in and out.

Minato didn't start gradually this time, instead immediately going full force into her pussy, even as he roughly groped her breasts.

Yukari moaned more from the rough handling of her body that Minato was doing, even as her coil started tightening from what she was feeling. "Minato… I… Ahn…!" she cried out, incapable of finishing that sentence right away.

"Yukari… you're so tight… I'm… getting close again!" Minato warned.

"Minato… cum in me!" Yukari cried out, feeling her own orgasm drawing close, too.

"YUKARI!" Minato yelled, bottoming out inside Yukari as he finally came, his semen shooting out of his cock and flooding her womb.

"MINATO!" Yukari yelled, her pussy spasming around Minato's cock and milking it for what it was worth, even as her own juices flowed out from in it.

A few minutes passed as the two rode out their orgasms, before Minato collapsed onto the bed from exhaustion, barely managing to roll the two of them so Yukari rested atop him. "That was… amazing…" he said.

"Yeah… it was…" Yukari said, feeling exhaustion flow through her body. Letting out a yawn, she continued, "Good night, Minato… see you when we wake up."

"Good night, Yukari…" Minato replied, letting out a yawn of his own, before drifting off to sleep.

…or was it sleep?

* * *

 _In the Velvet Room, between Dream and Reality_

* * *

Minato looked around the room, wondering why he was in this place again. As it was, he was sitting down in a chair with a harp design for its back, in a room that the interior decorator seemed to make a velvet blue, even though the room looked more like the inside of an elevator somehow.

"Greetings and Salutations, young Minato Arisato," a person sitting opposite him, a man with a ridiculously long nose, bulging eyes, and a black business suit said. "I am delighted to see that you returned to the Velvet Room when I summoned you here, in spite of your apparent age in the world you started fully inhabiting today, with the memories attached."

Minato looked back at the man and asked, "Is there something you forgot to mention the last time we spoke, Igor?" Upon seeing the confusion on the man's face, he clarified, "This is in regards to me being a seal of some sort… you honestly don't remember the details?"

Igor paled considerably when he heard what Minato said. "I'm sorry, I wasn't at liberty to discuss the details before," he said in an honest tone. "If it weren't for you bringing it up now, I would have been forced to keep quiet on certain things, not unless you asked me about them."

Minato sighed in a slight bit of dejection. "I understand," he said, meaning it. "Now, what did you call me here for this time? The last time had to do with the Contract, so…"

"Right," Igor said, nodding. "It seems that you fell unconscious when you had awakened your power in your native reality… it's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax."

"Alright…" Minato replied. "I'm assuming I'll need to use my power in this new reality, as well… Persona, right?"

"Precisely," Igor answered. "As expected of one who spoke with my master about this. By the way… I see that it was Orpheus who heeded your calling."

"Yeah… though then that big black thing tore out of him, from what I remember… what was that thing?" Minato asked

"That was Thanatos, one of the final Personas you would normally attain had you stayed in Iwatodai," Igor answered. "That being said, your power is still weak."

"Right… because I only awakened it recently…" Minato mused.

"Not quite," Igor answered. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links-your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that."

"Right…" Minato replied. "Now, what you said about… Thanatos… can I summon multiple Personas? I mean, from what I've briefly heard from Yukari, she only has one… and it's the same with most other Persona users she knows."

"You can indeed summon multiple Personas, though you'll need to sift through them in order to use each one individually," Igor answered. "Any other questions?"

"Not at the moment, no…" Minato replied.

"Very well," Igor said, before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "Oh? It seems like you've already formed a Social Link and fully developed it…"

Minato blinked a bit. "I have?" he asked. "Is there a way for me to be able to see what Social Links I've developed?"

"Yes, you have formed and fully developed a Social Link," Igor answered. "Also, there's a way to see what Social Links you've developed, and who you can develop these links with…" With a wave of his hand, he produced a contacts case, which appeared in front of Minato. "Use these…" he said.

Minato picked up the case, and opened it, taking out what looked like an ordinary pair of Contact Lenses. Putting them in, what appeared to be a holographic list appeared in front of him, mostly blank with a bunch of question marks, but there was one that had a picture and name, causing him to smile. "Yukari…" he said fondly.

"The Lovers Arcana is what you've maxed out, in terms of Social Links," Igor explained. "Although, I suggest you speak with your linked person in regards to how to repair her relationship with her mother, especially if you want her to do the right thing regarding her mother's relationship status."

"Right…" Minato replied. "I'll do what I can, especially when we get back to Iwatodai… but I'm not sure just what I can do…"

"You'll find something to do to help her out with that particular situation soon enough," Igor assured Minato. "Is there anything else you need explained?"

"One thing, to be honest," Minato mentioned. "About these Social Links, do I make them in this reality and they 'carry over' to my home reality? Or do I have to wait to develop them until I get back to Iwatodai? Or do I have to develop them here, then re-develop them with new individuals in Iwatodai?"

Igor held up a finger, before saying, "Some Social Links can carry over to your home reality, while others can't. For example, you can't carry over the Social Link to the Fool Arcana, but you can carry over the results of the Lovers Arcana… which makes sense when you consider who it is you have that link with." Extending a second finger, he asked, "Anything else?"

"One last question," Minato replied. "My previous time here I met your assistant, Elizabeth. What is her role, exactly?"

Igor lowered his fingers and gestured to Elizabeth, saying, "I suppose she should answer of her own free will. Does that sound fair?"

"Alright," Minato replied, before turning to Elizabeth and waiting for her answer.

Elizabeth looked at Minato and said, "My role in the Velvet Room is to give you and whoever else tasks that will revolve around you getting me certain things or doing certain other things. For example, I can reward you for performing Fusion Spells with two different Personas, like Cadenza… though that is a spell you'll need to get later." As if she remembered something, she added, "I also store the different Personas you use in the Persona Compendium in my hands. I hope that helps matters some, should you need to get rid of some for a bit."

"Thanks," Minato replied.

"You're most welcome," Elizabeth said. "Also, I may require a visit outside of the Velvet Room, so I will need an escort from you, specifically."

"Wait, what?!" Minato asked, shocked.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Relax…" she said. "I don't mean it in the romantic sense; I just mean it professionally, since I'll be hiring you to do this for me. I know all too well you want to tie the knot with your sweetheart."

Minato nodded, a bit relieved. "Alright… I guess that can work," he said.

Elizabeth looked at Igor and gave him a nod.

Igor looked at Minato and gave him a smile that bared his teeth. "Now, then… Time marches on in the world you currently inhabit. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then… farewell."

Minato nodded, before he returned to sleep.

* * *

 _Location Unknown_

* * *

 _"…You've made a grave mistake, Cherenkov,"_ a man that looked suspiciously like the Colonel from 14 years prior said to the Commander over a comm channel. _"I believe I already warned you about the dangers of the Zohar. You should have been more careful while retrieving it."_

Commander Cherenkov nodded his head and said, "Yes, Sir. I'm afraid that there's no excuse for the fatalities that occurred during the recovery. However, we can…"

 _"That's a trivial matter. Forget it,"_ the mysterious man said. _"The problem… is that those people touched the Zohar, and then vanished… And… in addition to that, you're still transporting it while exposed to normal space. Because of that, we've had to move the plan up two phases. We can't have the Zohar falling into the government's hands."_

"Two phases…?!" Cherenkov implored. "But why are you…"

 _"We've picked up local U.M.N. activity on our EPR radar,"_ the man continued. _"The fleet is column jumping towards the position of your convoy. They'll cross your vector in five hours, 22 minutes."_

"No, it can't be?!" Cherenkov replied, shocked. "Them?!"

 _"I told you, you've made a grave mistake,"_ the man said. _"We dispatched reinforcements an hour ago. So keep it safe at all costs until they arrive."_

"W-will they make it in time?" Cherenkov asked.

 _"Just keep it safe until they arrive,"_ the man ordered. _"I don't care if you have to send it into hyperspace by itself. Fortunately for you, your ship is carrying that weapon. I don't know what Vector's up to, but take advantage of the situation if you can…"_

"E-excuse me, Sir," Cherenkov interjected, "but they haven't even started field testing it yet!" He paused for a few seconds, before shaking his head. "It's too risky!"

 _"You of all people should be cognizant of its power,"_ the man said, driving his point home. _"I don't care if it's unstable. Make them hurry."_

"But, but Sir…" Cherenkov began.

 _"That is all,"_ the man finished.

"Commander, wait!" Cherenkov called out. "Commander Margulis!"

But his pleas fell on deaf ears, as the transmission was cut.

* * *

 _In the halls of the_ Woglinde

* * *

Footsteps could be heard echoing down the hallways, even as everyone off-duty was about to hit the sack, though these footsteps seemed to be completely out of place. For starters, the normal footfall sounded like they belonged to people wearing boots, not business shoes. For another, there was something about the footfall that said the person making it viewed the world as their personal playground, not as it should be if they were in the military.

Most people simply didn't notice the footfalls, though one person did notice and turned as the footsteps approached them.

The owner of the footsteps was a blonde man with blue eyes in a blue and black business suit, who wore a purple hat, and seemed not to care that he was completely out of place. As if noticing that he was being stared at, he turned to the soldier and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Wh… who are you…?" the man asked. "You don't look like you're supposed to be here…?"

"My name is Cypher. Louis Cypher," the odd one out answered. "I was walking through here when I noticed that I needed to find the restroom, since I failed to use it before arriving. Could you please direct me to the nearest restroom?"

The soldier, still somewhat confused, nodded, before providing the necessary directions, though in his mind he did plan to report this irregularity at the earliest opportunity.

"Thank you, Crewman McNimitz," the odd one out said, before walking over to the restroom.

The soldier wondered how the man knew his name, before continuing his patrol, thoroughly intending to report this irregularity.

Louis Cypher walked over to the restroom and entered, seeing that it was empty. "Well… soon, I will _finally_ defeat my rival! It might be soon by human standards, or it might be soon as in a hundred years or so, but it _will_ be soon." At that point, he felt his bathroom urges go up. "…after going to the restroom, that is."

Taking that opportunity to use the toilet, he finished and walked over to the door before he remembered that the security cameras would wonder why he didn't wash his hands, so he walked over to the sink and washed his hands. After finishing that, he walked out of the restroom and headed down the hall, before he found a door without a doorknob. "Well… I found my ticket out of here, it seems," he said. "I sure hope that my rival doesn't do anything here… the humans here are interesting."

With that, he pushed the door open, revealing a Terminal that was about to activate. "Now… one trip to Earth coming right up!" he exclaimed, before fully walking in, the door closing behind him… and a bright flash of light barely escaped the doorway.

* * *

 _Shion's Room_

* * *

"Like I told you before, I can't go anywhere until my project stabilizes," Shion said over a transmission in her room. "Don't you remember?"

 _"You know how long you've been saying that?"_ said the person on the other end of the line. _"I haven't seen you for two years now. You could at least come home for our parents' memorial. Where's your sense of filial duty?"_

"Memorial? Ahh… Come on!" Shion said to the person on the other end, who seemed to be her brother. "Why are you trying to resurrect obscure ancient rituals?" Suddenly, it hit her. "Wait a minute. You've been reading those weird old books of yours, haven't you? I swear, you're so obsessed with those precious books of yours!"

 _"That is none of your business, thank you very much,"_ her brother replied. He then sighed. _"How many times must I tell you not to quibble about my way of life."_

"What do you mean, way of life?" Shion questioned her brother over the transmission. "All that stuff's just a stupid old hobby for you. Just remember, don't expect me to take you in when you're old, senile, and all alone."

 _"That's terribly rude of you, Shion,"_ her brother replied. _"Don't worry about me, just promise me you'll come home this year, okay? If you don't…"_

"All right, all right, when I get some time off," Shion replied to that, hanging her coat up on the hanger. "Look, gotta run - see ya!"

 _"Hey, wait!"_ her brother called out. _"I'm not going to let you dodge the question again… Hello? Hellooo…"_

Shion then turned off the transmission while her brother was talking, before she sat down on her bed. "Honestly…" she said to herself. "I wish he'd consider my feelings for a change… I feel bad for doing this, but… Maybe I should take a bit of a rest."

Before she could go to bed, though, she saw an unusual sight: A glowing blue butterfly like those that flew around the Zohar flying _through the wall_ and into her room. With her vision blurring, she was asleep on her bed with no way of knowing how she pulled it off.

* * *

 _Platform of the In-between_

* * *

Shion found herself on a strange platform, her coat on, and a man in a white tuxedo and a butterfly mask in front of her. Before she could say anything to the man, he bowed to her and said, "Welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Philemon, a dweller between consciousness and unconsciousness. And now, a simple test; can you state your name?"

"Shion Uzuki," she replied. "A pleasure to meet you, Philemon-san."

"Splendid," Philemon said, nodding at her. "There aren't many who can remember their identity when in this domain. It seems you've passed that test."

Before Philemon could continue, a little girl could be heard coughing from behind Shion. "You hijacked my meeting with Miss Shion here, Mister Philemon," she said with a bow.

Philemon looked as apologetic as he could behind the mask. "My apologies, Miss Nephilim," he replied. "But, with everything that is about to happen, I felt it best to speak with her now."

Shion, possibly because she was confused, asked, "Uh… what?"

"Shion…" Nephilim began. "Events have been set in motion. The spirits of the dead are seeking the last fragment of the power that came from Lost Jerusalem. You will soon be facing a great trial."

"Indeed," Philemon said. "You have a road to travel that is filled with many dangers, and your life will forever be changed."

"H-how will my life be forever changed?" Shion asked, being royally confused by the words said.

"You will obtain a great blessing, greater than any you have received before," Nephilim remarked. "But, to receive this blessing, you will pay a heavy price…"

"Correct," Philemon said, getting Shion's attention. "Now, tell me this; are you aware of the many and varied selves you harbor within you?"

"What are you…?" Shion started to ask.

"People use varied masks to interact with others," Nephilim remarked. "This mask can vary depending on the one being interacted with - someone could be kind and gentle to one individual, yet cruel and hateful to another. Even if one's true self is revealed, it could still be just another mask."

"As Miss Nephilim has said," Philemon continued. "That is the nature of humanity. You, though… you have a very firm grip on your identity. I respect your strong will. In return, I grant this power; Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you… the gods and the demons you harbor."

"Wait a minute, back up," Shion said with hands raised. "There's actually a reason why such rituals like what my brother's a fan of exist?"

"In a way," Nephilim replied. "Mythology. Legend. Religion. All these affect people in different ways. Mister Philemon is one who allows individuals he has chosen to summon beings based on figures in those legends. The beings summoned are also affected by the true self of the one who summons them."

"True," Philemon answered Nephilim's explanation, before looking at Shion. "The time is soon when you will need this power."

"How soon are we talking, here?" Shion asked.

"All we can say is that your current voyage will not end as planned," Nephilim replied. "You must be ready."

"I will say, however, that you will receive help," Philemon added. "There are two others in your proximity who have the ability to summon Persona, and one will soon also gain another power."

"I… I see," Shion answered, unsure of how to say anything more on the subject.

Philemon looked at Nephilim and nodded, both agreeing to something important. "Now, you must return, to your proper time and place," he said to cause Shion to return to her normal sleeping patterns… of tossing and turning, with Nephilim watching over her, before she turned the lights off for her.

* * *

 **Xamusel: Distortion FINISH!**

 **…** **why did I quote BlazBlue again? Oh well… hopefully this will be done with soon, my desire to quote the franchise.**

 **Er, anyway, now you see the reason why we brought in Terminals in this fic… and now we have a few chapters until shit** ** _really_** **hits the fan at the least. I am not kidding… you saw Cypher's introduction, and even a moron like myself can tell what that means, so… yeah.**

 **Anyway, here's the review corner, everyone.**

 **…** **wait. I forgot that there's not supposed to be a review corner just yet. I feel like a complete and utter idiot. Sorry about that.**

 **The next story to be updated is this one… hopefully you guys will enjoy the stories we write in this series.**

 **Well, in any case, this story has officially gone off the rails by this point… even if only slightly for now. We hope you continue reading this story for the benefit of those who need their ideas expressed.**

 **Now… here's Takeshi!**

* * *

 **Takeshi Yamato: OK, another chapter down - mostly copy/pasted from the previous version, but with a few adjustments to account for new details, and to include another Minato/Yukari Lemon. And yes, that had similar consequences to their first time in AWiI, too.**

 **See you in the next update! :D**


	4. Chapter 3

**Xamusel: Well… here's the next chapter. Takeshi and I hope you've enjoyed this so far… because shit is about to get real. How real, you ask? Well, real enough for everyone on the** ** _Woglinde_** **to feel it and then some.**

 **Well, to keep people from griping at us… The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning! Rebel One,** ** _Action_** **!**

* * *

 **A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE**  
 _Story written by Xamusel and Takeshi Yamato_

* * *

 **Chapter 003:** First Conflict with the Gnosis (AKA Shit Hits the Fan for the First Time) (I)

* * *

 _In the realm of consciousness, KOS-MOS Lab_

* * *

"Man… any luck finding out the reason for the error earlier today, Togashi?" one of the male techies in the lab asked another male techie, the first one at his computer station.

"None, sorry," a second male techie, Togashi, answered from his computer station. "It's like the problem vanished into thin air the moment I get even remotely close to it."

"Huh… That's odd…" another techie remarked.

"Man… what do you think the Chief would say if we told her we couldn't find the problem?" the first techie asked. "I mean, given that she's the only one more invested in the KOS-MOS project than anyone else, even Minato and Yukari…"

Togashi looked at the first techie and said, "Y'know, I actually believe I know what she'd say…"

"You do, huh?" the third techie asked.

The first techie looked at Togashi and asked, "Is this some sort of joke answer you're about to give us?"

Togashi shook his head. "Knowing the Chief, the most likely answer is 'Problem? What problem?' in regards to the error we had earlier today," he said.

"Huh…" the third techie remarked. "She clueless? Optimistic? Or what?"

"Actually, I think the Chief's traumatized, now that I understand Togashi's point of view," the first techie answered. "I mean, wasn't there some sort of technology put into KOS-MOS that only the Chief should know about that we shouldn't know about from before two years ago?"

"Yeah, that's my hypothesis as well," Togashi answered. "She probably doesn't even remember half of what went into KOS-MOS at the time… how odd is that?"

"Pretty odd…" The third techie replied. "I think I remember hearing the original Chief was one of the casualties in that incident… you think he might have put in features we can't see, and the 'error' was one of those features interacting oddly with the Encephalon?"

"Sounds likely," the first techie answered. "Now, if only we could turn back time in order to figure out what went into KOS-MOS…"

At that moment, the door to the lab opened up, revealing… "What the…? You're all still here?" Allen, holding onto a cup of coffee, walked in.

The first techie looked up at Allen and asked, "Hey, how's it going?" As an explanation of what they were doing, he said, "We're trying to pinpoint today's problem, among other things. What about you?"

"Oh, Commander Cherenkov gave me a piece of his mind earlier," Allen said, shaking his head. "It wasn't a small piece, either…"

"Ouch. Glad to see you survived," Togashi said, sympathetic to Allen. "That guy's relentless."

"'You act like a bunch of college kids!' and 'What, is Vector run by a Girl Scout?'" Allen quoted, doing a rough approximation of Cherenkov's voice. "He just went on and on." Allen then walked near to where KOS-MOS was at. "Apparently, he had stuff he was going to say to the Chief, but was forced to put it all on _me_ because he was unable to say any of it to her face."

"Man, that's just not right," the first techie said.

"Seriously," Allen replied, going to a computer and starting it up. "But it isn't right to have the Chief taking all the heat…" A few seconds passed as he typed. "Still… I wonder why he seemed so nervous…"

As they worked, no one saw a blue glow begin to emanate from the ports of KOS-MOS' storage unit…

* * *

 _In the Terminal room a couple minutes prior_

* * *

The Terminal, having been inactive ever since Louis Cypher left for Earth, started spinning about as a way to say that someone or something was coming through the teleportation device. When the spinning reached its maximum speed, a bright flash of light occurred again, depositing a young woman sprawled across the floor.

"Ugh…" the woman, who had purple hair and eyes, olive-colored skin, and a very ample bust size, groaned, as she got up to her feet. "Wh… where am I…?"

Looking around, she saw she was in a room with a Terminal, although the room was odd in and of itself. For one thing, there was more technology in the room than she'd ever seen in her lifetime before, and that's saying something. For another, the floor was made out of metal, not wood or even dirt.

"This is… strange…" she said. "Definitely not anywhere I've ever been before…"

Taking out a device from her backpack, she attached it to her arm, before turning to the Terminal and activating her device.

"OK, let's see just where I am…" she said, adjusting controls on the device.

At that moment, a bright flash of light came from in front of her, forcing her to cover her eyes, even as she accidentally triggered one of her device's programs. When the light died down, she opened her eyes again to see someone that she never thought she'd see in her life.

"Loki…"

The now-identified Loki, a purple-skinned man with blonde hair and elfin ears, looked at the woman and asked, "Who the bloody hell are you? Some sort of Demon Summoner that never heard of Earth before?"

"Wh-What?!" the woman snapped at Loki, in spite of his reputation. "I'm _from_ Earth! I honestly have zilch idea where I am, you insufferable _jackass_!"

Loki knife handed the woman right when he heard the last word. "Language, little missy!" he warned her as she cradled her head. "You don't want to be defiled in this room, do you?"

The woman paled considerably when she heard that. "I-I-I'll be good!" she exclaimed.

Loki grinned slyly when he heard that. "Then we can be sure to have a _great_ partnership, little missy," he said. "Now, then, be prepared to summon a group of demons to help cause mischief around here."

The woman scrunched her face for a bit, before she said, "I have a _name_ , you know, Loki. It's Isara Nakamaji."

Loki looked Isara in the eyes and said, "Alright, then, miss Nakamaji, be prepared to summon the demons I requested you to summon. Doesn't have to be any specific race of demon or anything, except that they need to be Chaos-aligned, understood?"

Isara could only nod in agreement when she heard that. "I really hope this works for us…" she said, even as she pressed her device's summoning features on purpose.

Little did either of them know what was going to happen, or why.

* * *

Woglinde, _Bridge (present time)_

* * *

One of the bridge crew, Pollyanna the Bridge Bunny, said, "Now exiting the Asteroid Field."

The Captain, Moriyama, said, "That's excellent! Prepare to gate-jump."

Another Bridge Bunny replied, "Aye-aye, Captain. All ships entering approach."

Pollyanna reported from her console, "19 minutes, 30 seconds to column area."

The second Bridge Bunny said, "U.M.N. pulse received."

"Current Coordinates locked," a Bridge Crewman remarked. "Transfer Vector Correction to 103. Target: Athens Column."

Just as everything started looking like it was going to go smoothly… A warning signal started chiming across the Bridge.

"Captain!" the Bridge Crewman shouted, Moriyama standing upright. "The warning signal!"

"It can't be…!" Moriyama exclaimed. "Is it them?!"

"No, sir!" the Bridge Crewman replied, looking at his console. "The detection system is silent!" Looking on the other side of the Bridge, he asked, "How's it look on your side?"

Pollyanna looked over to the Crewman and shook her head. "Nothing over here, either," she replied. "You sure it's not an error?"

"No, no it's not," the Crewman said, sitting back down in his seat, squinting his eyes to look out into the distance. "What… is this…?"

"What's going on?" Captain Moriyama asked as he walked over.

"Captain, I don't think an exterior source is causing this Warning Signal," the Bridge Crewman replied.

"Then what's causing it?" Moriyama asked.

"I'll run a search," the Bridge Crewman replied as he set to work. As he typed away for a few seconds, he finally figured it out. "…I've pinpointed the anomaly. It's inside the ship, Sector Three…?!"

At that moment, the main warning systems started blaring, with the Crewman standing up in his seat and looking around for a bit. He then looked down at his console, before noticing…

"It's… KOS-MOS!"

* * *

 _Back in the KOS-MOS Lab_

* * *

Alarms were going off in the KOS-MOS Lab, the lights having changed to a Red Emergency Glow, as the techs ran around in startled panic.

"That's impossible!" Allen exclaimed, before turning to a tech. "Hey! What the hell's going on?!"

"I don't know!" the Tech replied. "It all happened so quickly. We're checking it out right now!"

"KOS-MOS warning status, Level 1!" Togashi reported. "The Bindings are off!" A countdown appeared on his screen as he slammed a fist into the keyboard. "Damn it! It's booting up on its own!"

"The countdown has started as well!" a third tech announced.

"What the hell…?!" Allen remarked, looking at KOS-MOS' storage unit. "Why all of a sudden…?"

* * *

 _Shion's Room_

* * *

Shion finally got a decent night's sleep and was about to continue sleeping—

The lights went on as a warning signal went off in her room, the screen next to her bed doing the same thing.

—when she was forced to wake up.

Getting up, she looked over to the screen next to her bed, seeing a warning connected to KOS-MOS on it. Putting her glasses on and picking up the screen, she attempted to use her admin privileges to shut down the warning and put things to normal, only…

"Countdown?!" she exclaimed worriedly. "How can that be?!" Getting her coat on, she rushed to see about talking with Allen over the comm channels, but…

A computerized voice said, "Currently, we are at Emergency Level 3. This circuit is reserved for Class A and B users only. Class C users, please try your call again later."

"…Oh, come on! Why now of all times?!" Shion yelled indignantly. "Did someone activate KOS-MOS…?" Standing up, she thought, _'Wait, that's impossible. KOS-MOS isn't supposed to wake up unless I enter the activation code from this terminal… That's the fail-safe we integrated… This… This can't be happening… not again…!'_

Rushing out of her room, she was going to go to the lab, but…

A series of Blast Doors closed, cutting off direct access from the Vector Staff Quarters to the KOS-MOS Lab.

Yukari and Minato emerged from Minato's room at that moment, as well. "What's going on?" Yukari asked. "I tried to contact someone over the comm, but apparently we don't have high-enough priorities in emergency situations!"

"Same here!" Minato remarked. "What's going on, Shion-san?"

"It's really happening… It's exactly the same as the last time…" Shion said, looking at her screen still. It was at this time she registered Minato and Yukari asking her what was going on. "It's KOS-MOS, she's waking up!" At that moment, more warning sirens sounded, prompting her to yell, "Oh no! What is it now?!"

* * *

Woglinde, _Bridge_

* * *

"What is it now?!" Captain Moriyama queried.

"Detecting a large-scale Spatial Distortion ahead of us!" A Bridge Crewman reported. "An enormous mass is gating out!"

"Impossible!" Moriyama exclaimed. "We're still outside the Column Area! That's…"

"The U.M.N.'s Geodesic Structure is being breached!" the Bridge Crewman replied.

"The target…" a Bridge Bunny remarked, looking at her readings. "It appears to be interacting with the U.M.N. somehow!"

"It's being hacked?" Moriyama asked. "That's possible?!"

"Massive gravity fluctuations!" the Bridge Bunny reported. "Surface anomalies are forming in space-time!"

"Impossible!" another Bridge Crewman replied. "That defies all laws of physics!"

"Computing mass - the numbers are completely inconsistent!" another Bridge Bunny reported. "I can't get a clear reading! Whatever it is, it's huge!"

"The amplitude…!" a third Bridge Crewman called out.

"…the hell?!" a fourth Bridge Crewman exclaimed. "It's like a tidal wave! The readings are increasing! It's entering normal space!"

" _CAPTAIN!_ " all the Bridge Bunnies and Bridge Crewmen called out at once as they all turned to look at him.

"Straight ahead!" the first Bridge Crewman announced. "There it is!"

Captain Moriyama snarled out a single word. "Gnosis!"

* * *

 _Outer Space_

* * *

Outside the fleet of ships and dead ahead, a large group of monsters appeared, all labeled as one thing… Gnosis. While some could be akin to real animals, none of them were normal, especially since they were ethereal and impossible to hit with normal conventional weapons. The large carrier fleet of Gnosis looked like sea creatures… only, they weren't, not at all.

At the moment when they were all materialized in front of the fleet, they started firing off their occupants at the fleet of ships, making it look like they were firing off rounds of energy weapons on the A.G.W.S. and ships. While they were firing, the ships decided to shoot back, only with beam cannons to shoot down the 'weapons'.

The A.G.W.S. shot their weapons at the projectile Gnosis, only for the attacks to either miss, or go through them and not hurt them at all. At that point, a lot of Gnosis entered the ships, and through the hulls of each ship at that… just as a bright encirclement of light spread out from around the _Woglinde_ and surrounded the entire area.

* * *

 _Inside the_ Woglinde

* * *

" _Shifting to Defcon 1,_ " came a voice over the PA in the AGWS Hangar. " _Virgil Team, report to Sector D. Prevent the enemy forces from entering the reactor room._ "

Virgil himself was still in the medbay, so the next-highest ranking member of the team took over, and the AGWS Team moved out into the ship, accompanied by Combat Realians and foot soldiers.

All throughout the ship, Gnosis stalked the halls. Realians and Humans alike took cover and tried to hide, while the soldiers opened fire.

And their guns actually managed to affect the Gnosis, which was possibly related to that light which had spread throughout the entire ship and into the surrounding space.

While the fight was going well for the defenders _on_ the ship…

* * *

 _Outer Space_

* * *

…the fight wasn't going so well for the defenders outside of the ship.

As the Gnosis were flying through the battlefield, an A.G.W.S. was looking carelessly at the swarm that was headed past it… all before one hit it, causing it to go to Boom City.

* * *

 _A few minutes earlier, in the KOS-MOS Lab…_

* * *

Allen slammed his hands down on the keyboard as he yelled, "Can't we stop it?!"

A tech turned to face him and exclaimed, "It's no use! It's not responding!"

Togashi reported, "KOS-MOS is starting up in Auto-Mode!"

"Huh?" Allen exclaimed, turning to face Togashi. "Wait a sec! We disabled that mode after the incident!" Upon seeing the tech shrug, he continued, "Only the Chief's terminal can enable it! Damn it! Why now…? Unless… it's reacting to… Gnosis?! Where's the Chief?!"

A third tech answered, right hand to same ear, "She should be heading this way, but the regular UNP channels are congested and I can't reach her!"

"And the emergency line?!" Allen questioned.

A fourth tech answered, "I'm trying it now!" As everyone looked at the screen where the third tech was trying to reach Shion, a ringtone was heard coming from her regular chair, prompting everyone to look at it incredulously.

Allen palmed his face and said, "Oh, great!" Suddenly…

"What happened?" Allen asked.

…the power went out.

"I don't know!" Togashi answered, walking up to Allen. "The power just suddenly…"

A glow emanated from KOS-MOS' storage unit, locks opened up on the unit, and steam issued out from vents, creating an eerie look and feel.

The pod then opened, revealing KOS-MOS within it. She extended a hand and gripped the edge, rose to a sitting position, then stepped out onto the deck.

KOS-MOS then looked around the room, as Allen and the techs backed away in fear. Not seeing Shion, she commenced a search, finding her just leaving her room, alongside Minato and Yukari… and about to encounter a group of Gnosis.

After a split second to process the information, a layer of KOS-MOS' visor slid up into her headpiece.

One of the techies blurted out, "She's using the Hilbert Effect?!" seconds before a pulse of light shot out from KOS-MOS' body, first suffusing the entire ship before extending out to cover the entire region of space, Phasing the Gnosis into realspace.

The rest of her visor then shot up into her headpiece, revealing her blood red eyes as they opened, and she strode forward, as they all trembled in fear.

* * *

 _Back in present time, in the Terminal Room_

* * *

Loki was just about ready to initiate his brand of chaos when he felt the effects of the light show that had emerged from the walls. "What the…" he gasped momentarily, before his face contorted into a scowl. "What's the _meaning_ of this?! A light that inhibits demonic energy?! Whoever developed this as a way to counter us is going to—"

The sound of guns firing and howls of pain from monsters _finally_ reached his ears, as well as the ears of the other Chaos-aligned demons.

"Er, Loki, I was _trying_ to tell you that there was a reason for the alarm earlier…" Isara spoke up. "Something about Gnosis or whatever…"

"What do you mean by 'Gnosis'?" Loki questioned. "Isn't that just the Greek for 'knowledge'?"

Before Isara could give a theory—

" _Alright_! We scored another kill on those space monsters!" a soldier called out from the other side of the doorway. "Let's clear them off the _Woglinde_!"

Loki and Isara stared at the door for a brief time, before looking at each other in the eye. "I think that answers _that_ question," Isara said.

Loki facepalmed, before he walked over to the door, standing still in shock when it opened on its own. "What the…?" he questioned. "What happened to the doorknob?"

At that point, he got his first glimpse of what the Gnosis looked like. One looked like a flying manta ray, another looked like a giant goblinoid with overly big arms, a third was reminiscent of golems that he once designed as a joke, and… wait, back up, golems he made as a _joke_?!

One of the goblinoids turned to face him, before it started trudging towards the room's occupants, launching a punch at the powerful demon.

Loki, luckily for him, was able to catch the punch and toss the goblinoid back out of the Terminal room. "You thought you could mess with _me_?!" he snarled at the Gnosis, before he snapped his right arm out to the side. " **Mabufudyne!** " Almost immediately, a massive amount of ice came crashing down around the Gnosis from above, slaughtering them and the soldiers that were initially fighting them.

Isara looked at the scene in distress, before she felt what she had for breakfast go up her esophagus. "I feel sick…" she muttered.

Loki turned to face her and said, "Okay, time to send _you_ back home to Earth… though why do I get the feeling that it's obtained a second name?"

Isara looked at her device and did a quick search on the local equivalent of the Internet, finding… "Lost Jerusalem?" she asked. "They named it _that_?"

Loki looked at the device as well, seeing that she wasn't lying, before turning to Isara. "You still need to go home, Nakamaji," he said, before pushing her over to the Terminal. "Now, be a good girl and don't come back to this warship any time soon… okay?"

Isara hardly had the time to argue when she came into contact with the Terminal, which spun around with a flash of light and sent her home without her summoned demons, before it calmed down and became still.

Loki walked over to one of the corpses of the soldiers, touching the man's face to look at his former memories, and decided what to do from there for the time being. Walking away from the corpses, he made it into a bathroom, shifting into the form of one of the soldiers that should be defending the ship before stepping out. Before he could continue over to where he was going, he said to the summoned demons, "I'll need your help… keep the humans from seeing you while you hunt down what these 'Gnosis' are after. If it's vital to the prosperity of the human race, make sure it gets stolen, but not by the Gnosis… it'll instead be our job to steal it."

After hearing Loki say that, the demons started hunting for the source of this invasion, before he heard a radio go off on his belt, _"Lieutenant Virgil, what are you doing out of the sick bay?!"_

Loki picked up the radio and answered, "I just got better, actually… that was a nasty headache."

 _"_ _In that case, get in your A.G.W.S. and fight the Gnosis,"_ the voice on the other end said.

"Roger that," Loki answered, before heading off in his disguised form of Lieutenant Luis Virgil to the A.G.W.S. hangar.

* * *

 _With Shion_

* * *

"What in the world is going on?" Shion asked.

"I think the ship's been attacked and boarded," Minato remarked, seeing the spectral forms of the Gnosis. "So… those things are Gnosis…?"

"It would appear so, Minato," Yukari said, feeling a reminder of the Shadows from Iwatodai, before shaking her head. It wouldn't do to be reminded of—

Just at that moment, a pulse of light seemed to sweep over them and the Gnosis, and suddenly the Gnosis looked much more substantial.

Minato blinked as he and Yukari looked around for a bit. "Where did that light come from?" he asked.

Suddenly, the Gnosis noticed them, one of them charging at Shion! When Shion, Minato and Yukari ended up fighting a pair of Goblin Gnosis, Shion went first, punching the one on the left before striking it with a "Stun Shock". And surprisingly, it did damage!

' _Was that light… the Hilbert Effect?_ ' Shion thought. ' _Was this why KOS-MOS activated? Because she sensed the Gnosis?_ ' Before she could muse on this further, though…

Minato and Yukari held their hands out in front of them, as… Tarot Cards? …appeared to materialize in them.

" _PERSONA!_ " They called out in unison, crushing the cards in their hands.

In bursts of blue flame, two beings seemed to form in front of them, a mechanical humanoid being with a harp appearing in front of Minato, and a female being apparently chained to a bull's head in front of Yukari.

The being with the harp bashed its harp against one of the Goblins, causing it to dissipate, while the female being extended its arms as far as the chains would allow, a burst of wind appearing and destroying the other one.

"H… how did you…?" Shion started to ask.

"We'll explain later!" Yukari told her. "Right now, we need to get going!"

Yukari was right about that - the Hilbert effect might have been triggered, but they'd have a better chance of survival if they got to KOS-MOS, not to mention they needed to check on the others.

Though that wouldn't be easy, as seemingly the entire ship was overrun by Gnosis… as the trio discovered when they made it to the next area.

Shion looked at the horde of Gnosis that were in the immediate area and started backing up from the monsters, before she felt something… strange, so to speak. _'What the… what is this feeling?'_ she thought. _'I don't exactly recall why I'd have this…'_ Before she could figure out what to do with it…

 _"_ _Thou art I…"_

She paused, hearing the voice in her mind. Something completely unfamiliar, and yet… it felt… right… to hear it…

 _"…_ _and I am thou."_

As the voice continued speaking, she could feel that… strange feeling… resolving into some kind of strength, deep within her.

 _"_ _From the sea of thy soul I cometh…"_

Her mind recalled the meeting with Philemon and Nephilim, and she realized this was what Philemon had given her.

 _"_ _I shall lend thee my strength in times of need…"_

She held up her arm, a tarot card manifesting in her palm, as the strength within her grew.

Within her, her primal instincts of fight or flight soon scaled over to fight as she called out, "Per… so… na!" With that, she crushed the card, a crashing noise sounding from her hand without any pain involved.

A figure showed up from behind her, looking like a mechanical person with angelic wings and a halo, before the figure said, _"Archetype of the Angelic Host… I am Nike, Goddess of Victory!"_

* * *

 **Xamusel: FINISH!**

 **…** **what? I still need to get BlazBlue out of my system.**

 **Now, in any case, review corner time… if this were going to be reviewed by the time I finish posting this. Hate to say it, but I don't see any way this will be reviewed, not just yet.**

 **Alright… before I give the floor to Takeshi, I need to elaborate on something. I know that Nike is Elly's initial Persona in the first game, but Takeshi and I couldn't just think of a different Greek entity to give Shion as a Persona… in the P3 style. I hope that explains a few things to you guys.**

 **Next update will be in A Wizard in Iwatodai URE… hope that you guys take the time to read it more.**

 **Now… here's Takeshi!**

* * *

 **Takeshi Yamato: And talk about a split from canon. KOS-MOS has already gone Hilbert, we've got SMT Loki causing havoc (and masquerading as the soon-to-be-deceased [thank goodness] Luis Virgil), and Shion has awakened her Persona!**

 **And in case you're wondering, Shion awakening her Persona and Loki showing up were the only things I was truly expecting when we first planned this out.**

 **As Xam said, I definitely hope you take the time to read AWiI URE more - especially since the next chap of the story brings the Gaim series officially back into the mix! As well as another Kamen Rider. :D**

 **Until then!**


End file.
